Got the following message from Antonio Guadamuz and thought I’d pass it along to all who want to put their money where their mouth is. Below is a checklist of many ways that you can help support Urban Oasis Project with their various efforts to get fresh, local and organic food to under-served neighborhoods. This organization is behind the emergence of two new grower supported markets (in Liberty City and Upper Eastside), and has created dozens of edible gardens for families in need. Now they’re growing in many new directions. Don’t have time to volunteer? UOP is a 501 (c) 3 charity and your donations are tax deductible.
It’s never been a better time to get involved!
Urban Oasis Project has been driven over the past two years mainly by the volunteer efforts of Melissa Contreras, Art Friedrich and Antonio Guadamuz — and they couldn’t even begin to count the number of hours they’ve planted gardens, organized events, networked with people, written grants, coordinated farmers markets, driven vegetables from farm to market, and so much more.
We’re moving into a new phase of the project! Melissa, Antonio and Art will have nearly full-time positions working in our partnership with Earth Learning to create a new sustainable farm and market in East Homestead at Verde Gardens — and it’s going to be impossible to keep up all the other aspects of UOP without a broader group of of members actively taking on responsibilities.
[Urban Oasis Project is no longer affiliated with Verde Gardens!]
Here’s a list of some things that we’re doing that you can help with:
Farmers Markets
Market Assistance — Helping set-up the market, making the displays pretty, selling veggies, and breaking down. Thursdays and Saturdays.
Market Expansion — Making educational displays, cooking demos, recruiting new vendors, recruiting musicians, etc. Be creative!
Market Outreach — Promoting the market through flyers, directly to passerby at markets as well as at neighborhood events, homes, stores etc.
Garden Building
GIVE Garden management — Contacting interested recipients, setting up dates to plant, organizing volunteers and materials, follow-up contacts and visits. Creating handouts for distribution.
Potlucks and Workshops
Organize Workshops — Recruit folks who want to teach, promote the workshops. We’d love to be able to expand this program to reach more low-income people as well! Host a potluck and/ or workshop yourself.
Other Initiatives
Food Truck Project — If we have committed project leaders, we’d like to have our own Food Truck with a permanent garden in the bed, to travel around and give educational presentations.
Homestead-Verde Gardens Farm and Market — Looking for volunteers and workers for the new Verde Gardens project in Homestead! A 22 acre organic, permaculture designed farm we’re building from scratch! Daily work being done so you can come almost anytime!
[Please contact Art Friedrich at 786-548-3733 if you wish to volunteer for Urban Oasis Project activities and events.]
These are a few of the things we do. Do you see a way to tap in? Every little bit counts! The most important thing to us at this point is consistency. You must be able to do what you commit to, otherwise it doesn’t help anybody!
Please call us or email with any questions and to get started! We can do lots to help out, you will be supported!
Thanks,
Antonio Guadamuz
Vice Treasurer
Urban Oasis Project
Redland Rambles 
Hi,
I’m trying to figure out where the lychee’s are exactly; the name of the farm? I know it is too late for fresh lychee’s, but had an idea (don’t laugh, I am serious) to string up some as part of a necklace with beads. I happen to have one dry lychee in a bowl that someone gave me at school & I never tasted…..I would love the opportunity to look around under a lychee tree for more….I live in Biscayne Park. Thanks for any help or ideas! Sophia
Too bad you didn’t eat your lychee. You missed out on quite a treat! Quite simply, lychee is a fruit that grows on a tree. It has a red skin that slowly turns brown after it’s picked. You peel the skin off and eat the white flesh, which has texture similar to a grape, but tastes much sweeter, with its own particular flavor. People either love it or don’t.
The pit is fairly large, smooth and medium to dark brown in color. A string of lychee pits would make for an interesting necklace! But you would need a tool like a dremel to drill a hole through each pit.
If you want to get some lychees, come by the Upper Eastside Market at 79th and Biscayne on Saturday morning and ask Clive, the juice man at the Nature Boyz booth, if he has any. He had a big box last weekend.
Hi Marian & thank you for that info! I will be at the market Saturday morning looking for lychees! A string of lychee pits is something I haven’t considered but now see more possibilities, lol
I covered my lone lychee with a couple coats of clear nail polish; it is a gorgeous deep burgundy color & quite bumpy…I may have to buy a lychee tree, wonder if they produce in the first year??
Sophia in Biscayne Park, where you can hear mango’s dropping all over town
Quick, take pictures of your lone lychee before it rots!
There’s plenty of plant nurseries down in Redland that could sell you a sapling. However, I think it takes a few years before it grows big enough to bear fruit. Depends on the variety. Sounds like you lacquered a Brewster. They have that deep red color.
If you’re flooded with mangos, make jam or ice cream, or just freeze them for later, like February, when you’re feeling nostalgic for summer.
Hi,
Thanks for all the lychee info! Just when I was going to say I didn’t think the lychee would rot because it felt hard, I stuck my thumb through it , bummer!
Still planning to check out Clive at the 79th St. market Saturday.
Before I sign off, last question, any machine knitters here?
Sophia
Don’t know if there are any machine knitters reading this blog, sorry… If there are any, I hope they surface.