Thank you to everyone who participated in the first Sisterhood Gardens Community Build Day! We are grateful to all our volunteers and planning leaders for setting up/cleaning up and helping make this day possible.
Author: FogCityGardener
Beautify the OMI Day: June 25th 2016
Saturday, June 25th!
Mural Design Workshop: 10:30-12:30, IT Bookman Community Center
Sisterhood Community Gardens Build Day: 12:00-2:30, Brotherhood Way and Arch Street
Groundbreaking Event & Community Meeting – April 20th at 6:30 pm – IT Bookman Community Center
Greetings Brotherhood Way Community Garden neighbors, partners, and friends of the project!
Since our last Brotherhood Way Community Garden update in the fall of 2015, Public Works landscape architects and project managers have been busy finalizing the construction documents for Sisterhood Farms at Brotherhood Way. As Public Works begins preparing the site for construction, we’re pleased to announce a Sisterhood Farms at Brotherhood Way Community groundbreaking event!
Join your neighbors, Supervisor Avalos, Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, and project staff on-site for a Sisterhood Farms at Brotherhood Way groundbreaking event on Wednesday, April 20 at 6:30 PM. A community meeting and construction update at IT Bookman Community Center will follow, beginning at 7 PM.
IT Bookman Community Center’s address is Randolph Street, about a 5 minute or 1 block walk from the Sisterhood Farms at Brotherhood Way Community groundbreaking event site.
The project staff and community leaders will discuss the project’s construction timeline, then break into focus groups to plan for community build out and garden governance.
All are welcome to attend!
Warm regards,
Jonathan Goldberg
San Francisco Public Works
jonathan.goldberg@sfdpw.org
(415) 695.2015
http://sisterhoodgardens.org/
Brotherhood Way Community Garden Update
Greetings Brotherhood Way Community Garden neighbors, partners, and friends of the project!
It may seem a little quite on the project front, but I wanted to provide this update to let you know of the progress being made behind the scenes since our last meeting in July.
- The project has secured $150,000 from the Mayor’s FY15-16 Budget. A big thank you to Supervisor Avalos for advocating for this funding to be included in the budget.
- Supervisor Avalos also dedicated funding to cover soft costs associated with developing project documentation.
- The project has secured $150,000 from the SF Environment Carbon Fund grant.
- Public Works Landscape Architecture staff have been working on a detailed cost estimate for the conceptual plan that was developed with the community through our planning workshops. Staff will begin to create construction drawings of the conceptual plan so that we can start to map out how to implement the project within the available funding.
- Our original timeline had anticipated groundbreaking in January, this date will need to be postponed due to some of the processes taking longer than anticipated. We are targeting a groundbreaking for Spring 2016.
Thank you for continued interest in the project and patience as it makes its way through the necessary steps. In the next few months, we will have additional opportunities for involvement in the project as we move towards implementation. Please feel free to contact the project team with any questions or suggestions.
Best regards,
Jerad Weiner
San Francscio Public Works
http://sisterhoodgardens.org/
Final concept garden design is here!
On Saturday, July 25, 2015, we hosted the “Finding roots in Brotherhood Way” neighborhood activity day. This successful event was organized by Tiffany Ng from the Chinese Progressive Association, Tere Almaguer from PODER (People Organizing to Demand Economic and Environmental Rights, youth leaders from the Common Roots program, and the project team.
The day featured a relaxing gathering of neighbors, food, and activities. Jerad Weiner from SF Public Works, presented on the project status. The Brotherhood Way Community Garden project has received funding in the Mayor’s 2015-16 budget, Supervisor Avalos’ office provided additional funding and the project will also receive funding from the Department of Environment Carbon Fund. This is exciting news because the project now has the resources to move forward to a construction phase. Youth leaders from the Common Roots program presented the findings of their neighborhood community survey that they have been working on the past few month. Bill Bulkley from SF Public Works Landscape Architecture presented the final concept design and answered questions regarding the final design.
Next steps for the project involve developing more detailed construction drawings so that a implementation schedule and final cost estimates can be more accurately created. We hope to have the drawings completed within the next few months. Once we begin the construction phase, we will renew our engagement efforts with the neighborhood and the project Champion group to begin to form some semblance of a garden leadership structure.
We appreciate everyone’s continued involvement in the project and look forward to seeing this vision become a reality.
Finding roots in the Brotherhood Way Garden!
EVENT SATURDAY, JULY 25 @ 12:00PM – 3:00PM (Corner of Brotherhood Way and Arch Street)
Join your neighbors and representatives for an on-site community event to continue conversations to transform the Brotherhood Way into a thriving community garden!
- Free family friendly event
- Hands-on games and activities
- Delicious food
- Translations will be offered in Cantonese and Spanish
- Youth members from the Common Roots Program will share results from a neighborhood survey project about the community garden.
Can you dig it? Please RSVP with Tiffany NG at tiffany@cpasf.org 415-601-2830
Event organized by representatives from Supervisor Avalos’ Office, S.F. Public Works, S.F. Recreation and Park Department, San Francisco Parks Alliance, People Organizing to Demand Economic & Environmental Rights and the Chinese Progressive Association.
Brotherhood Way Design Meeting
Thank you to the residents who participated in the Brotherhood Way Community Garden design and feedback meeting. We were very excited to be able to share the designs that our SF Public Works Landscape Architects produced based on the feedback collected from the previous public meetings.
William Bulkley and Kevin Quach from SF Public Works gave a presentation which reviewed the results of their site analysis, consolidated feedback from previous public meetings, and three potential designs for the garden.
Meeting participants had the opportunity to look at the presentation boards, ask questions, and use post-it notes to provide feedback on the designs. The participants were then split into small groups where they discussed the different elements that they liked, elements they didn’t like, and general thoughts about the three designs. Participants were also given individual worksheets where they were allowed to record and provide individual feedback on each of the designs.
Next, we conducted a dot voting exercise on the three designs where everyone was given three red dots and three green dots. These dots were placed on the designs so we could see collectively the elements that the group liked and didn’t like. This exercise allowed the entire group to identify design elements that had consensus and other elements that required further discussion.
All of the feedback collected at this meeting will be complied and incorporated into a second draft design of the garden. We are aiming for a second design meeting in June to present the revised design and discuss next steps in the project.
We are still looking for residents who would like to take a more active role in the project and serve on our Champions Group. Please feel free to contact Jerad Weiner if you have any questions about the project or how you can get more involved. Jerad.Weiner@sfdpw.org , 415-641-2637
Here are the boards that were presented at the meeting:
Board 1: Topographical Survey (pdf)
Board 2: Site Analysis (pdf)
Board 3: Image Survey Feedback (pdf)
Board 4: Skill Share Feedback (pdf)
Board 5: Design A (pdf)
Board 6: Design B (pdf)
Board 7: Design C (pdf)
Design Meeting – April 29th, 2015 – 7pm- I.T. Bookman Community Center
Join your neighbors and representatives from Supervisor Avalos’ Office, SF Public Works, SF Recreation and Park Department, and the San Francisco Parks Alliance for an evening meeting to build our community involvement, start discussing the design, and to continue to move this project forward. We will be presenting two draft concepts for the garden based on our previous public meetings. We are looking for your participation and feedback to guide the design revisions. We are continuing to grow the core organizing group, so please attend if you are interested in taking a more active role in the project.
For any questions regarding this meeting, or to request translation services, or to make any other reasonable accommodation requests, contact Jerad Weiner 415.641.2637
Another great day at Brotherhood Way
Thank you to all the neighbors who participated in our January 24 on site activity day! We had over 40 people participate in the activities which generated a lot of great ideas and discussion around the project. We had fabulous weather and delicious food from April Nine Thai Restaurant.
Project Champions
Our first activity of the day was a brainstorming session to define the various roles and responsibilities of our Project Champions. We then asked for volunteers to sign up to be part of the Project Champion group and take on some of the roles we identified. As we enter the next phase of this project, it is the goal of the City agencies involved to begin to hand-over some of the responsibilities to this Project Champion group. This project is very much a community led effort and it is our goal to make sure this Champion group has the support it needs to succeed. If you are interested in being part of the Champion Group, please email jerad.weiner@sfdpw.org or call 415-641-2637
Soil Testing
We had representatives from the San Francisco Department of Public Health give a brief demonstration on how they test for toxins and contaminants in the soil. The Department of Public Health will be testing the soil on site which will help inform how we garden at the site.
Site Analysis
We broke into small groups to conduct a preliminary site analysis. The purpose of the site analysis activity was to inventory assets and gather information about the site which we will use when we begin to make design decisions for the garden. Participants gathered information regarding topography, sunlight, existing plants, views, circulation of people, quality of soil, and sense of space. We then shared our observations with the larger group.
Next steps…
Over the next few weeks, we will be meeting with those individuals who expressed interest in participating with the Champion group. We will be supporting the Champion group as they plan, and coordinate the next public meeting for the project. If you are interested in being part of the Champion Group, please email jerad.weiner@sfdpw.org or call 415-641-2637
Join our on-site Community Meeting on January 24 from 12pm – 3pm
Join your neighbors and representatives from Supervisor Avalos’ Office, SF Public Works, SF Recreation and Park Department, and the San Francisco Parks Alliance for an afternoon of activities designed to build our community capacity, start a site analysis, and to continue to move this project forward. We will be formulating the core organizing group at this meeting, so please attend if you are interested in taking a more active role in the project. Please meet at the corner of Arch Street and Brotherhood Way.
Lunch will be provided to participants, please RSVP to Jerad Weiner 415.641.2637 or jerad.weiner@sfdpw.org
Please dress in layers, bring a water bottle, and something to sit on. In case of rain, please check back to this site for updated information.
For any questions regarding this meeting, or to request translation services, or to make any other reasonable accommodation requests, contact Jerad Weiner 415.641.2637