Hot off the presses, download a copy of the Frogtown Farm Framework Plan:
Frogtown_Farm_Framework_Final_web
or get your hardcopy here:
http://www.blurb.com/books/5128443-frogtown-farm-framework
The Framework Plan is ready!
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Frogtown Getting Airtime on Channel 5 News
Video of Frogtown on Channel 5 News!
Frogtown resident and Frogtown Farm Board Member, Susane Moua said, “This has been one of my activities that I have been participating in [for the past few years]. Moua said, “The biggest thing we’ve accomplished has been the purchase of the land.” She said the details will be ironed out over the next few months.
UN Report: Small-Scale Organic Farming Only Way To Feed the World
One more reason Frogtown Farm is important!
“According to the new UN report, major changes are needed in our food, agriculture and trade systems, with a shift toward local small-scale farmers and food systems recommended.
Even as the United States government continues to push for the use of more chemically-intensive and corporate-dominated farming methods such as GMOs and monoculture-based crops, the United Nations is once against sounding the alarm about the urgent need to return to (and develop) a more sustainable, natural and organic system.That was the key point of a new publication from the UN Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) titled“Trade and Environment Review 2013: Wake Up Before It’s Too Late,” which included contributions from more than 60 experts around the world.”
Re-posted from Popular Resistance: Read Original Here
CA John Lor Leads Frogtown Hmong Community Focus Group
John Lor, Tou SaiKo and Kia Xiong lead a great discussion with several members of the young Hmong community in Frogtown. There was a general consensus that gardening was something that they grew up with, and continue to be a foundation of their parents’ generation, but hasn’t been as prominent in their contemporary lives. There were several young parents in attendance, they were excited to have a new green agricultural resource in Frogtown to teach their children about the farming tradition in Hmong culture.
Frogtown residents listen as John Lor explains why he got involved and how the project is important to his Hmong heritage and raising his children in St. Paul.
Tou SaiKo also advocates for the project, he is interested in the youth connection to the land and using the farm as an organizing tool for Frogtown.
John Lor ordered quite a spread. A wise man once said, ‘There’s no meetin’ without eatin’.
Recycling a barn
Team members John Dwyer and Blaine Merker met with representatives from the City of Saint Paul City Manager’s office, Parks & Rec, and architect Paul Ormseth to discuss the possibility of re-using a historic barn at the Farm. While relocating a historic structure poses significant cost, historic and logistical challenges, there may be a possibility to re-use some of the structural members of a barn that might be in the path of development. We will explore including this option in the Master Plan.
What do you think about the possibility of re-using old barn parts? What about re-locating an entire barn?
Don’t forget — January 4th is the last public meeting of the Master Plan!
We’re looking forward to seeing you at Jackson Elementary on January 4th to celebrate the accomplishments of the last few months of design and community engagement. Mark your calendars!
Maybe we’re just going through a phase…?
Phasing study presented at the December 10, 2013 meeting
One of the most important concepts presented by the design team is the notion that not all of the Farm can be built in a single year — both because of limits on available funding and the need to build soil and site fertility over time.
Above, this idea is illustrated with a simple diagram showing how various parts of the Farm could be built out over the course of four years. What would come first? It makes sense to invest in infrastructure in one effort, if possible. Things like pathway paving, lighting, fences, and play equipment would all make sense to go in in Year 1 when construction is active on the site. After this framework is complete, other parts of the Farm could be constructed as time, money and man- and woman-power allow: fruit trees can be planted, soil built up, gardens built.
One exception to the rule of “infrastructure first” might be the construction of a community gathering building, or Farm House, which might require additional funds to be secured.
Stay tuned for our meeting on January 4, 2014, where the design team will break out what can be funded and built in Year 1 vs. subsequent years.
December 10th Community Meeting showcases design and program options
This week the Frogtown Farm design team presented three site plan and programming options at an evening meeting at Jackson Elementary in Frogtown. Many attendees were familiar with the night’s facilitor — actor and singer T Mychael Rambo — who led the meeting with song and call-and-response. (Thanks to the Trust for Public Land for supporting the meeting with his services!) This was the first official combined meeting of the Farm design team and the City of Saint Paul Parks & Rec Department, and the plans for the park-and-farm were presented together, as the unified whole that we hope to make them.
The design team’s architect, John Dwyer, describes ‘Option A’
Despite bitter cold and snow piling up outside, several dozen people attended the meeting and dove into an enthusiastic discussion of the plans. Each option contained elements that have received support in previous presentations and with the Farm’s Design Advisory Committee (DAC), so the exercise of the evening involved creative analysis of the possible combinations that could be made from the various plans.
The team also presented three programming options, dubbed:
- The Frogtown Farm Enterprise Co-Op
- The Frogtown Specialty Farm
- The Frogtown Farm Hub
…and asked attendees to consider which of the three would provide the best economic and organizational roadmap for the Farm. (See the ‘Meeting Record‘ tab for detailed descriptions of each programming option.) Unlike the farm site designs, the programming options were presented as options that should be pursued whole — as opposed to mix-and-match. Why? Because a clear and coherent programming strategy will be crucial to moving the Farm forward in the first few years.
We stop for a snack break before splitting up into 5 stations to talk about the site options, programming, and phasing.
The design team got lots of great feedback, which we will be digesting in the coming days to arrive at a single site plan and program strategy. You can view the “raw” comments on the meetings page here, along with the actual boards and people’s written notes. If you weren’t able to attend the meeting, we hope you’ll catch up and see what people wrote.
What’s the next step? The team will be preparing the final site design and presenting it at our January 4th celebration, 1-4pm, once again at Jackson Elementary. We hope to see you there!
The team’s crackerjack soil ecologist, Jake Voit, breaks down the nuances of loam!
Community Ambassadors Abdi and Chong staff the program feedback station.
Writing comments on ‘Option B’
Chris Edwards, a neighbor and proud urban chicken owner, held a small meeting to bring her neighbors together to talk about the project. Using a game board of the park site and set of game pieces by Rebar, residents were able to design their fantasy farm!
Kia Xiong : Community Ambassador Extraordinaire
Kia Xiong a local youth offers of her engagement work: “During the last few weeks I talked to many Hmong families. some really like the ideas of a farm in Frogtown. They are very excited about it. I am very happy to help spread the word of Frogtown Farm”
Kia, a seasoned participant in local youth leadership organization, Youth Farm, has been helping to connect outreach efforts to youth and Hmong communities in the neighborhood.
Here is a sketch Kia contributed- a Frogtown Frog enthusiastic about Frogtown Park and Farm!
Frogtown Farm Master Plan 