Urban Roots

Big shoutout to Microsoft Reno for digging in and spending time with us at the Urban Roots Teaching Farm!

Back in April, we were invited to join Microsoft's Lunch & Learn. We shared what we do and even led a fun "gardening meditation" where folks smelled herbs, touched soil, and tasted some edible weeds. It was such a hit that a group from Microsoft decided to check out the farm and volunteer!

Thanks again, Microsoft, for being unbe-leaf-able partners in our mission to change how our community eats and learns through garden-based education. 🌿🤝🌱

We have an awesome community event coming up in late August, and we're seeking a musician or band to donate a live performance! Interested in partnering with a rad nonprofit that teaches kiddos how to grow their food? Please email [email protected]. Thank you, Farm-ily! 🙏🌱

📷 twoelsewhere.com

Campers were squealing with excitement during Week-3 of Farm Camp! 🐐 🐷 🐝

The theme for week-3 of Kids Camp was 𝗠𝗼𝗼! 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗭𝗼𝗼! Campers aged 5-9 totally fell in love with the animals that VALLEY AMIGOS brought each day. The kiddos also enjoyed snacks like vegan Ethiopian tibs, garlic rosemary potatoes, and fruit chia smoothies. Their days were filled with exciting activities such as making bird deflectors, learning about camouflaged animals, playing lizard tag, and crafting bird feeders. Thank you, Veronica and Valley Amigos!! Seeing the kiddos connect with your animals is priceless.

Meanwhile, the 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗵𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲 camp for ages 10-14 offered the same delicious snacks and featured activities like honey tasting, candle making, creating bee zines, and learning the basics of beekeeping. Our resident beekeepers, Farmer Debs and Kelsey, shared their expertise and passion for bees, enriching the Young Farmers' experience. 🍯

Both camps provided an incredible blend of fun, education, and tasty treats, making this summer unforgettable for all our campers! 🌞🌿

Have you heard of Grounded Gardeners? It's a group of veterans who volunteer to help with gardening tasks. We're so grateful when they lend a hand at Urban Roots! ☮🤝🏽

Larry Dawson, the group host, guides volunteers through a grounding meditation at the end of each volunteer session. 🧘🏾‍♂️ ☮️

Today's photo depicts these incredible volunteers helping us remove an invasive and spiky tree from our playground area. Grounded Gardeners, thank you for your kindness and generosity! 🙏

Our next Farm Open House & Member Meeting is Thursday, July 25th from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.! Bring the family along to meet our chickens and play yard games at this FREE event. Come to learn about our programming, ask gardening questions, and meet fellow plant people!

🍻 Urban Roots members receive two drink tickets! Memberships start at $5 per month.

Support garden education in your community with a membership to Urban Roots!
👉 https://www.urgc.org/membership

Happy 4th of July! 🎉🇺🇸

Just a quick reminder – the Urban Roots Teaching Farm is closed today and tomorrow. Take this thyme 🌿 to relax and remember to bee 🐝 safe while having tons of fun. We’ll see you back at the farm soon!

Bonus points if you can name the flowers shared in today's post! They were all taken at our farm in Reno, Nevada.

We’re proud to celebrate our board vice president, Dillon J. Davidson, featured in this article from his alma mater, Oklahoma State University! 🌱

From his roots in rural Ohio to his innovative work in Nevada, Dillon’s passion for agriculture shines brightly. His dedication to expanding awareness and supporting local businesses embodies the spirit of Urban Roots. Read more about his incredible journey and contributions to the agricultural community! 👇📖👇

International Initiatives: MIAP alumnus promotes global trade - Oklahoma State University In his adopted home state of Nevada, Oklahoma State University alumnus Dillon Davidson continues what he started in Stillwater, Oklahoma: a mission to expand awareness and elevate the agricultural industry.

Registration for our fall programming opens on August 1st. Look forward to these classic Urban Roots programs! ✨

🍂 Fall Farm School
🍁 Fall Farm Camp
🤝 Dead Plant Society Community Workshops
🥘 Little Chefs Family Nutrition Workshops
🌾 Little Gardeners Toddler & Parents Program

Learn more at urgc.org!

It's Plastic Free July - the perfect reminder to show some love for our planet! 💚 🌍 We’re all about reducing waste and keeping our community green, and we need YOU to help us out!

🗑️Trash talk time! Reduce what you send to the landfill and support Urban Roots in the coolest way possible. Our farm is a public drop-off spot for TerraCycle US ♻️ — a rad company that recycles and repurposes stuff that usually ends up in the trash and in return will donate $$ to our nonprofit! Check out what we collect and drop them off any time in our collection buckets near the farm gate.

🪥𝗗𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀

Mouthwash bottles & caps
Toothpaste tubes & caps
Floss containers
Toothbrushes

🪒 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀

All brands of blades and razors
Rigid plastic razor packaging
Flexible plastic bag razor packaging

💄 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀
ONLY THESE BRANDS: Garnier, Pantene, Aussie, EOS, Dial, Burt's Bees

Lipstick cases
Lip gloss & mascara tubes
Eye shadow, bronzer, & powder cases
Eyeliner and lip liner cases & pencils
Concealer tubes & sticks
Shampoo, conditioner, & body wash caps
Hair gel tubes and caps
Hair spray triggers & spray bottle tops
Lip balm tubes and caps
Soap and lotion dispensers

📍 Drop-off location: Urban Roots Teaching Farm, 1700 E 2nd St, Reno, NV

📸👉 Snap a pic of your recycling drop-off and tag us to help inspire everyone in our community know about this opportunity!

Host your next workshop (like flower arranging), birthday party or event at the Urban Roots Teaching Farm! Hosting opportunities are open from March to October.

Explore rates and details: urgc.org/host-your-event

📷 Today's photo shows our Young Farmers at Farm Camp learning about floral arrangements from our special guest florist, Erin Foss with Flowers By Patti - Reno Flower Delivery. Erin, thank you so much! The kiddos absolutely loved the experience. 💐💚

Teachers - we'd love to host your students for an autumn field trip! 🍁

Our farm is open for field trips on Wednesday and Thursday mornings from March-May and September-November. Students can look forward to a tour of the farm (including saying hi to our chickens), a standards-based lesson, and farm fun like planting or harvesting. We're happy to accommodate students with special needs!

🚌 Book a Field Trip: https://www.urgc.org/field-trips

Cheers to doing what you can today, and not beating yourself up for the things you can't. We tell our campers and staff that their best is always enough. 🐞🏵️

We'd like to shout out Kerry Kelly, the Community Health Program Manager at Renown Health!

Kerry, with her rich background in public health and community engagement, leads initiatives to address northern Nevada’s health needs, reduce health disparities, promote wellness, and improve care access for vulnerable populations.

Kerry, thank you for always looking out for our community! We're grateful to you for joining our Seeds of Change fundraiser aimed at changing the way our community eats and learns through garden-based education.

𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼
Left: Connie Wray - Seeds of Change Emcee Extraordinaire
Left-middle: Kerry Kelly - Community Health Program Manager at Renown Health
Middle-right: Cat Bellah - Ten in the Morning - Ten Country
Right: Robbie Owens - Ten in the Morning - Ten Country

Not to toot our own bean shoot, but we're really proud of the all-ages programs that we offer our community! 🫛

We believe that everyone should have access to the therapeutic benefits of gardening and the joy of learning to grow your own food. 💪🥗

Our staff and space are currently at capacity. Your donation to our Seeds of Change fundraiser will help us grow our organization, so we can bring garden-knowhow, sustainability practices and fun to more people in the community!

𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗘: https://urbanrootsnevada-bloom.kindful.com/?campaign=1298928

If you're not in a position to donate, will you ask folks in your network to lend a hand?

Thank you, Farmily! 🤝🏻💗

🌱✨ Dreaming of a lush, sustainable backyard oasis? Discover how to turn your Reno backyard into a thriving food forest with homegrown produce and backyard chickens! 🐔🍎

Read Dickson Realty's latest blog to learn all about transforming your space into a self-sustaining ecosystem that supports biodiversity and delights your kitchen. 🍏🌿

Looking for the perfect home to start your backyard farm? Explore properties with Dickson Realty and find your ideal canvas for green endeavors. 🌻🌍

Read the blog: https://bit.ly/4bkwFI7

🎉 Farm Camp Week-2 kicks off today! (𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 - 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘫𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴) 🌱

🌟 Kid Camp (Ages 5-9): Art Week
🎨 Activities: Accordion book making, natural dyes, Keith Haring & Jackson Po***ck art, nature paint brushes
🍎 Snacks: Beet hummus, tomato/corn/bean salad, beans & greens quesadillas, apple/kale sandwiches, herb lemonade

🌿 Young Farmers (Ages 10-14): Sustainability Week
🌍 Activities: Eco bricks, plastic bag rugs, beeswax preserving, cob building
🍎 Snacks: Same delicious treats as Kid Camp!

Thank you to Help Save the Bees Foundation for teaching our kiddos about bees during Week-1 of Farm Camp!

Hap-pea birthday Kelsey! 🎂💚

Please join us in celebrating Kelsey, our amazing Community Programs Director! Kelsey hails from Oregon and moved to Reno to serve as an AmeriCorps member right here at Urban Roots. With an undergrad in Anthropology and Spanish from Portland State University and a recently completed Masters in Public Health, she's been an invaluable part of our team.

Kelsey loves sharing her passion for cooking with learners of all ages. Her favorite foods are sweet potatoes, snap peas, and fresh eggs from our farm! 🥔🥚🌱

Kelsey, thank you for your dedication to the urban farm life and for making our community a better place every day. We hope you have the best birthday ever!

🥕 🥤 🍌 Happy National Smoothie Day! Here at Urban Roots, we love teaching kiddos how to make yummy and nutritious snacks, meals and drinks. (𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭)

Registration for our fall programming, including our Little Chefs workshops, opens on August 1st. These workshops sell out, so register as soon as you can!

Register: urgc.org/workshops

Josie the Tortoise and Savannah wish everyone a very Happy Summer Solstice! 🐢🌞

Happy Juneteenth! Today, we celebrate freedom, resilience, and the power of community.

Please note that Urban Roots is closed today. We encourage you to take this time to reflect and perhaps plant a seed of hope in your garden. 🌱

Parents, enjoy this special day with your family, and we’ll see you back on the farm tomorrow!

Overheard at Urban Roots Summer Farm Camp this morning ...

Today is World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought - a perfect occasion to save the date for Soil Palooza 2024!

𝗦𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘

📅 Saturday, August 24
🕒 4:30 pm - 7:30 pm
📍 Urban Roots

This year, with the support of the Nevada Division of Forestry, Urban Roots is teaming up again with Earth & Seeds for our third annual Soil Palooza – a regenerative farming educational event.

This year’s Soil Palooza will focus on the theme of Edible Ecosystems with an emphasis on tree health as a basis for a successful ecosystem. This will include topics within permaculture, including companion planting, native perennials, establishing health levels within ecosystems at urban scales and more!

More details and ticket info coming soon!

Thanks to all the dads and father-figures out there who inspire us, support us, and make us laugh every day. Happy Father's Day and keep those dad jokes coming!

🌼🐝 Pollinator Week is June 17-23, 2024!

Pollinators are vital to Northern Nevada and our entire planet. They help pollinate 75% of our flowering plants and nearly 35% of our crops! Without them, our gardens and plates would look very different.

Join us in celebrating these incredible creatures and their essential role in our ecosystem. Learn more about how you can support pollinators at pollinator.org

Urban Roots Summer Farm Camp starts THIS Monday, and we're thrilled to announce that it's fully SOLD OUT! 🎉 We're super grape-ful for the overwhelming support!

Our fantastic educator team, a mix of seasoned pros and fresh faces, is ready to help plant seeds of knowledge while making this the best summer ever for our campers.

If you missed out signing up your kids this time, don't sweat it! We've got a waitlist ready just in case more spots "crop" up. You can join our waitlist during the camp registration process — urgc.org/camp

We’re getting so excited for Summer Farm Camp! All the excitement has us daydreaming about all the fun we’ve had at past camps – like last year’s Art Week with the wonderful Pan Pantoja! 🎨 🖌️ Camp kiddos had so much fun learning about all kinds of visual arts methods. We can’t wait to see campers' works of art this summer!

We are so grateful for all the wonderful organizations who have partnered with us to make Farm Camp possible. Last year’s Art Week at Urban Roots was supported by the Nevada Arts Council – we appreciate all the ways that they support art and artists in Nevada! 🙌

🌱🥕 Lettuce take a moment to thank Brian Beffort and his wonderful wife, Laura, for their incredible support of Urban Roots! Brian and Laura are dedicated Urban Roots Camp parents and donors to our little nonprofit.

Brian has helped us grow through his role as Washoe County's Sustainability Manager and his presence at events like our recent Seeds of Change Radiothon, Humble Harvests, Whiskey Tasting, and Harvesting Health Brunch.

🍅 Thank you both for helping our garden and community flourish!

Our monthly farm volunteer days are taking a summer break but will sprout back up this fall. 🍁🍂

Upcoming Saturday Farm Volunteer Sessions:

❤️ Saturday, Sept. 14
🧡 Saturday, Oct. 12
💛 Saturday, Nov. 9
🩵 Saturday, Dec. 14

Don't leaf it to the last minute — sign up to become an Urban Roots volunteer at timecounts.app/urbanroots/join