Estelline, SD

• Water Lines and Electricity are in the trenches;  there will be some settling in the trench area so drop the sod bits and more soil in there,  and WATCH YOUR STEP AROUND THE GARDEN  -THE GROUND IS UNEVEN-
• Children’s Garden plans this year are bolstered by grants from Homemakers (FCCA) for seed and equipment and the Master Gardener Program for programming;  congratulations to Mary B for success in bringing proposals to fruition.  Watch the newspaper for specifics of the Pumpkin Patch Kids 8 weekly sessions, 2 hours each, for students in grades 3-5 to be held at the Community Garden.
• Applications for garden plots are now available at Country Corner and Reliabank.  There are 23 plots tilled, and more space available.  Please send your application in as soon as possible to make planning speed along-  We hope to complete assignments before the middle of May. 
• Conquering the sod in this inaugural year will take effort — for optimal growing conditions we will try to till the garden and remove the grass (please bring your rakes) every 7 to 10 days before the crops go in.
• First garden work day: May 3rd  4-5:30pm        Bring rakes and a trash bag.  We’ll collect ALUMINUM that day as well, so magnets will be helpful.   Bring your own beverage — we’ll have cookies. 

Check out progress in the Community Garden.  The blackened rectangles represent a pumpkin and children’s garden on the east, two big sites for rental and public use sites.   The poles for a shelter are in the northwest corner. 

Anyone who cares to help can start raking and removing sod, tree roots, and rocks from the tilled areas.  The tillage crew sited some glass pieces and other rubbish, so be careful and remove that dangerous stuff to the trash pickup at your home.  Please put the organic material to be composted at the edge of the plots for later pickup to the compost area. 

Application forms  for renting a 20X25 plot will be available at Reliabank and Country Corner soon. 

What do you think of having the SD sanctioned chili cook-off in Estelline?  It is one of the ideas that came up after the Tues. meeting.

Who would like a job in Estelline?  Can you help us find a  Farmers Market manager (every Friday night for 18 weeks and promotions time), and a unit director (full time) and a part time staff person to serve a Boys and Girls Club.   Here are three new jobs for Estelline — exciting      YES!     Job descriptions need to be developed: can you help?

We also need leadership help for getting the Club going.  So speak up if you could help out with working or giving ideas.   Contact Tonya Williams.

SDSU Cooperative Extension Service and our community coordinator popped the question  –HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO CELEBRATE  — achieving intermediate Horizons goals?  After mid July sometime they’ll provide the cake and funds!! Whoooopeee!!!!

April 15th we mulled it over a bit and thought a party on Friday in conjunction with Farmers Market would be good.  What do you think?

And “thank yous” to Northwest Area Foundation, and SDSU,and CES staff, and especially the always cheerful Cheryl Jacobs, our coordinator.

Horizons Program is taking applications for the 2008 Community Garden growing season.  The Lister Donley Memorial Garden located at the southeast end of 6^th Street South in Estelline will be tilled and marked with 20 feet by 25 feet plots which will be made available to individuals, families, local organizations and truck gardening entrepreneurs.  Rent for the season is set at $15 per plot; for the inaugural year of the garden this amount will be refunded if the garden is clear of debris at the end of the growing season. 

            If you are an experienced gardener, you will find this location full sun and well drained.  The underlying sandy stratum makes it excellent for melons.  Water source will be available 

            If you would like to begin as a gardener, this is an excellent site, with plenty of opportunity for assistance and we will even hold some classes if interest is expressed. 

            Produce for home use and sharing is encouraged.  We will organize some distributions through the Food Pantry. 

            Those who would like to be involved for fun, food, and profit as well are welcome to participate in the Horizons Farmers’ Market as well.  Horizons is taking applications for vendors (contact Linda Svec with questions, forms at Reliabank).

            Should you have questions about the Garden or be interested in volunteering with developing the garden, helping with the children’s plot or the general use plots, or contributing resources to the effort, please contact Harvey Donley (cell phone # 690-9494 or local 873-4000).

            Applications can be picked up from Country Corner or Reliabank.

            The Horizons program which seeks to address poverty in rural communities is funded by Northwest Area Foundation with administration by the Cooperative Extension Service through SDSU.   

Two performances of the show will be held in the school auditorium evenings of July 11th and 12th (air-conditioned comfort will be welcome then even if we don’t think about it now).

Children ages 8 to 18 will audition for parts after the directors arrive with their trailer of props, costumes, and scripts on July 6th.  The short rehearsal time is made possible by the directors playing the main roles and the children’s parts being”so catchy and fun it all comes together”.

Watch for tickets ($5 for adults) and volunteer opportunities before the 4th of July.

Friday evenings 4-7pm starting June 20, 2008, Estelline Horizons will sponsor vendors of produce and flowersand crafts from those things, eggs, poultry, and (if we can locate and use a community commercial kitchen) value-added produce and baked goods.  Location provided by the Estelline Coop Grain Co is the site of the aluminum recycling trailer at the south end of Main Street.  Rules and Regulations, and Vendor Applications for the market were defined by the committee and will be available in print format soon.  Persons who grow their own materials within a 100 mile distance of town are qualified to participate.   A manager for the Market is needed still. 

Four area residents will give an introductory talk on permaculture at the Legion Hall (Main Street) on Saturday, March 29^th.  The one-hour talk starts at 1 pm and is free and open to the public.  The talk is hosted by the Estelline Area Horizons project.

Permaculture (permanent agriculture) is a design science which integrates landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way.  The philosophy behind permaculture is one of working with, rather than against, nature.

“The permaculture concept originated in Tasmania, Australia, in the 1970s,” said Karl Schmidt, one of the four presenters.  “From Australia it has spread across the globe and is practiced and taught in virtually every country on the planet.”

Schmidt, and his three colleagues, Jane Hegland, Dean Isham, and Jessica Miller, were trained in permaculture design by Bill Mollison, one of the two originators of the concept, and Geoff Lawton, managing director of the Permaculture Research Institute in Australia.

Permaculture draws information from many fields, including agriculture, horticulture, soil science, animal systems, geography, agroforestry, interior design, construction, and engineering.  Its goal is to integrate this information into sustainable planning and design.

“This talk will be of interest to anyone concerned about the future of the planet, food security, and sustainability,” said Schmidt.  “But more than that, it is about sharing the proactive message of permaculture and what people can do themselves in dealing with these concerns.”

For more information, contact Karl Schmidt, 688-4913, or kjschmidt@mchsi.com.

Estelline senior citizens are invited to the American Legion for a free supper on Monday, March 24 at 5 PM.  The menu consists of barbecues, macaroni salad, potato salad, cookies, milk and coffee.  They have the chance to win four fruit baskets as door prizes. 

Hamlin County Extension Agent, Sandra Namken, will interview those present who will first list the positive aspects of the town and then what we could improve on as related to aging health concerns.  The group will be asked to prioritize the list that night. 

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 I do not know if anyone else put the crew up that completed the Leadership Plenty Series last fall with the “Can Do” T-shirts but I have one to share with the group!  Again, since I attended the blog traning, I am trying to catch up by sharing some photos.