HVF Harvest Festival

This weekend I attended the Hayes Valley Farm Harvest Festival. It was a beautiful day and the event was very successful. Many people came to visit the farm. There were activities set up for children and adults, from face-painting to a puppet show. There were also farm tours available and a pumpkin patch where there were pumpkins sold to raise money for the farm.

It was such a great event and the energy level was high. There was live music and DJ music which could be heard all through the Hayes Valley neighborhood.

It was a perfect opportunity for me to walk around, talk to people in attendance and take some photos of the event and the farm.

I talked extensively with Ron Stanford, the architect involved in the New Buchanan Commons (NBC) project. He is on my panel of experts and though I'd exchanged many emails with him and attended a skype meeting with him, I had not yet met him in person.

I also met Zoey Kroll, another member of the NBC team, and chatted a bit with Margaretha, who I had met before and who is also on my panel of experts.

I got a lot of great information from Ron on the next steps, in addition to our first steps on the ground at NBC. It is projected that physical work will begin at NBC around the first of the year (2012). I also spoke to him about strategies for interviewing residents. He strongly discourages door-to-door interviews for a variety of reasons, so we discussed attending neighborhood association meetings and other strategies.

Overall, it was a lovely day at the farm and I am very much looking forward to increasing my involvement in the NBC project.

Stakeholders in the New Buchanan Commons

Three Sisters

When Margaretha gave me a tour of Hayes Valley Farm a couple weeks ago, she also gave me a little lesson in permaculture. I know a bit about permaculture, but still have so much to learn!

A large part of permaculture farming involves companion planting. There are certain plants that you can plant in groups that will aid each other in different ways. These groups of companion plants are called "guilds."

One of the oldest guilds that we know of is called the Three Sisters and it is commonly assumed to have originated with the Iroquois. It has been practiced for centuries and it consists of corn, beans and squash.

The corn supplies a stalk for the beans to climb and the squash surrounds and protects the corn and beans. The beans also provide nitrogen that corn needs to grow and the squash also acts as a living mulch, which helps the crop retain water.

This system was one I had not heard of before, though I have used companion planting methods in my own gardens. I was struck by the beauty and simplicity of this solution and was inspired to create an image of the three sisters guild. This design is likely much too complex to use as a logo for the New Buchanan Commons, but this image may represent the beginnings of a logo design.

PERT Chart

Timeline

Ethnography

Because this project is heavily focused on community outreach, I plan to make use of ethnography. I began this weekend by doing a very initial observation of the Buchanan Mall area. It was drizzling a bit and overcast on the day I went, so I did not observe very many actual people, but I did take some photos of the area itself and made some initial observations.

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Buchanan Mall is a section of Buchanan Street that was closed off for green spaces and community gathering areas. There are many green areas separated by asphalt. There are also playgrounds on almost every block. I was surprised to see that this area was so under-utilized by members of the community, and thought that maybe this was because of the weather, but I've been told that there is rarely anyone using these common spaces. I will continue to research this, by visiting the area at different times of day / days of the week.

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Much of the asphalt is used as parking spaces. Will these spaces still be available to residents after NBC is established? If not, how will the residents feel about this?

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The residential housing along BM is all government housing projects.

"During the executive mandates for urban renewal in the 1940s, thousands of livable, Victorian-style homes and businesses owned by the city's working class African American residents were seized by the government under eminent domain and razed to make room for government sponsored housing projects."

- wikipedia.com

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Evidence of community outreach is easy to find in the BM area, with many murals and community centers. As stated in an NBC grant proposal, "Many non-profits service the community but a recent community needs assessment by Mo’ MAGIC highlights gaps in education, youth service, workforce, and family support."

These are a few of the community organizations along BM:

- African-American Historical & Cultural Society
- Ella Hill Hutch Community Center
- St. Paul's Lutheran Church
- Rosa Parks Senior Center
- Rosa Parks Elementary School

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"Ethnography is a systematic process. While useful ideas can emerge during casual observation, the most powerful insights come from a rigorous analysis of systematically collected data. During research, a trained ethnographer will collect photos, video, audio and other contextual data. These photos or images may look “unpolished” or “rough.” However, the beauty of ethnography is that what one observes is visually compelling, real and meaningful without being staged."

- An Ethnography Primer, AIGA / Cheskin

Successful New Direction

This past week I had a phone meeting with Margaretha Haughwout, one of the major organizers of the Hayes Valley Farm, as well as a key player in the transition of the farm to the Buchanan Mall (BM) area of San Francisco's Western Addition. This new community farm will be called the New Buchanan Commons (NBC).

My hope up to this point was that I could focus on NBC for my 505 project, specifically focusing on community outreach in the BM area. This is an underserved area of the city and the concern is that it may be difficult to get the BM community excited about the farm and to feel ownership of it.

In talking with Margaretha, it was decided that I would be folded into the team working on the NBC project. The team members are as follows:

Margaretha Haughwout: xmargarethax@gmail.com
- HVF Energy Consortium / Resource & Finance Council
- Resource Coordinator at HVF
- Artist / Graphic Designer

Zoey Krull: edibleoffice@gmail.com
- HVF Root Council / Board Member

Janelle Fitzpatrick: janellefavia@gmail.com
- HVF Energy Consortium / Resource & Finance Council
- Youth Education Coordinator

Ron Stanford: rstan1122@gmail.com
- HVF Root Council / Board Member
- Architect

London Breed: AAACC / london@aaacc.org
- Executive Director of the African American Art & Culture Complex (AAACC)

I also have a new problem and purpose statement, as my focus has shifted from the original project relating to Hayes Valley Farm.

Problem Statement:

New Buchanan Commons (NBC) is a recently proposed community farm whose organizers need to find ways to promote excitement and a sense of ownership among the existing community.

Purpose Statement:

The purpose of this study was to develop the necessary tools to enable the NBC organizers to create this level of excitement in the Buchanan Mall community.

Meeting with Hayes Valley Farm

This past weekend I met with a few members of the Hayes Valley Farm (HVF). I described to them the project I've been tasked with in DAI 505 and opened up the discussion to their particular needs. I told them that my initial problem statement reflected the need of HVF to attract more volunteers and donors. Through this conversation, it came to light that the HVF will actually be closing within the next year, as they were only granted the plot of land where they reside for an interim period.

They mentioned a few other areas where my help might be more needed. The HVF will not end all together when the city reclaims the plot of land, but will instead be transitioning to a new space in the Western Addition, called the Buchanan Mall.

Buchanan Mall

The members expressed that with the transition will come a need to outreach to the community in that area. On top of this, all the resources currently housed at the HVF will not fit in the smaller area of the Buchanan Mall. Because of this they will need to communicate with other community gardens and farms in the area to see who can use the excess equipment they will be left with. An additional issue is keeping the energy level high at HVF to complete existing projects and begin new projects, which is somewhat waning with the impending closure.

Keys to Transition:

• Generating excitement and ownership among the existing community around Buchanan Mall
• Informing people about what will become available to them (ability to grow their own food and learn more about sustainable urban farming and permaculture)
• HVF to be a generator of energy for the transition in intangible and tangible ways (tangible forms including soil, seeds, physical resources)
  

Fears:

• Existing community will not be receptive
• Existing community will not care
• Existing community will be upset due to loss of parking spaces, etc.

Hopes:

• The community farm will be embraced by existing community

Realities of having a community farm in your backyard, as proven by HVF:

• Anyone can grow food
• It's possible to grow food anywhere
• It can be done in the Western Addition as it can be anywhere else

Challenges of having a community garden at Buchanan Mall:

• Space is not enclosed by fencing, as HVF is, which can lead to theft / vandalism
• Existing community is for the most part not involved as yet in permaculture projects and knowledge or interest of which does not currently exist in the culture of the Western Addition

Other areas of HVF that might be able to use my help:

• Further web site development (the current site is very well-done, but they have some ideas for expanding it)
  
• Finding ways to convey the HVF organizational/ governance structure to the community and outside world.

The members I spoke to are as follows:

Jessie Raeder: jessieraeder@gmail.com
Curtis Schofield: curtis@ram9.cc
Natasha Zuhur: nzuhur@gmail.com

The HVF has a Root Council which consists of a board of directors. They also have an Energy Consortium which is more concerned with managing resources and on-site management of the farm. There also exists a loose transition team that I may be able to join efforts with.

root-council@hayesvalleyfarm.com
energy-consortium@hayesvalleyfarm.com

I was also given contact information for Margaretha Haughwout (title needed) and have been in contact with her.

Next steps:

• Meet with Margaretha
• Talk to more people in the HVF organization
• Settle on one problem to address
• Research other community gardens, especially in areas where permaculture is not a part of the existing culture (West Oakland / OBUGs, Bayview Hunter's Point)
  
• Brainstorm design solutions

"Hope is not something you hear. Hope is not something you feel. Hope is something you Do."
- Curtis Schofield

Revised Problem & Purpose Statement

Problem Statement:

Hayes Valley Farm is a community driven farm that needs volunteers and donations to serve the community and encourage San Francisco residents to learn about sustainable ecological systems.

Purpose Statement:

The purpose of this study was to develop the necessary tools to attract the volunteers and donors necessary to continue to grow the farm.

Problem & Purpose Statements

I. Hayes Valley Farm

Problem Statement

The Hayes Valley Farm is a newly developed community garden (started in early 2010) which is in need of more volunteers and donations (of money and equipment) to be able to fulfill its mission “to serve as a community and agricultural hub encouraging San Francisco residents to connect with one another, grow their own food, and learn about sustainable ecological systems.”

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this study was to develop the necessary tools to enable the Hayes Valley Farm to attract the volunteers and donors necessary to continue to grow the farm and reach the initial vision and mission of the Hayes Valley Farm organizers.

II. Starting a New Business

Problem Statement

When starting a new business, it is very difficult to know what types of legal steps need to be taken and in what order.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this study was to develop the necessary tools to aid people in this process, a one-stop informational tool that would list the steps that need to be taken for starting a variety of types of businesses.

III. SF State Counseling Services

Problem Statement

The SF State Counseling Services are under-utilized because of the fact that many students either don’t know that these services exist, or don’t know that much of the fee is covered with the cost of their tuition.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this study was to develop the necessary tools to increase the number of students utilizing SF State Counseling Services.

Bio

My name is Alisa Highfill and I decided to go back to school to finish up my bachelor's degree after having a couple of different careers (one being in web design). I've always been a creative person and decided to earn my degree in graphic design (Visual Communications) so that I could gain the tools I needed to be able to live a creative life.

Moments of true, creative inspiration are what drive me, as well as cultivating a feeling of connectedness and community. I have many outlets for creativity. Along with web and graphic design, I am also a weaver. I have a love for textiles and have done much work in this area, mostly weaving and macrame. I also love to dance and sing (though I can't do either very well), I just love the feeling of self-expression, in all forms.

Along with my Visual Communications major, I've also completed a minor in Middle East Islamic Studies. I love studying other religions, cultures and political systems. I particularly enjoy learning about Africa, Asia and Latin America. I'm interested in indigenous and ancient cultures much more so than western cultures. I find western cultures somewhat boring, probably because I was raised in one. I'm definitely drawn to things that are different than my own personal experience.

I love this picture of me even though it's very old, mostly because it shows an optimism and pure joy that I would ultimately like to embody in all moments of my life.



6 Key Words:

Creative
Dynamic
Open
Loving
Engaged (in life)
Deep