Happy July, East Phillips and Friends!
Welcome to our July Newsletter! June was a whirlwind of planting, laughing, and weeding amidst the big storms and record breaking heat. The sunflowers are tall and leaning, our corn is gathering height and personality, and our dill and bok choy is overflowing (we have so much - reach out if you’d like some!). We hope you are finding joy and growth as July begins.
In this month's newsletter you will find a recap of June, calls to action, upcoming events hosted by or in partnership with EPNI, financial updates, and a community bulletin board!
As always, thank you to our neighborhood partners for hosting us and making these events and work possible. And thank you to all the volunteers who came out this month to help us take on these tasks, y'all are awesome!
Much love and gratitude to you all!
Willa (and, Chino, Arcadian, Eddy)
|
June is the month for pollinators, iced tea, soul food, and of course, PRIDE! We hope you had a happy Pride, however you chose to celebrate. We started June by spending a few days doing workshops at the FAIR School, where they helped us create labels for our plants. We also spent a weekend at Britt Howell’s BF50 Indigenous Health Initiative where we made connections and made plans for the future. At our Community Meeting on the 18th, we got to share more about our funding and next steps with you all.
|
We also had strong Seed Saturdays this month, a volunteer event we host biweekly. But, we're skipping July 5th, so the next one will be on July 19th – join us to help maintain and take care of the East Phillips community garden! We will start at 11am and be there until 2pm at the latest! If you’re interested in helping out during our Seed Saturdays, fill out this link here.
|
A cute though somewhat unhelpful volunteer at the East Phillips Community Garden
|
If you have upcoming events, news, or fun things to share about things in the neighborhood, let us know and we might include it in our next newsletter! Submit them here
|
We are testing out a new method of alerting community members to our events- text blasts! If you are interested in signing up for a text blast, fill out this form
|
East Phillips Urban Farm Friendraiser
July 10, 7pm, New City Center, 3104 16th Ave S, Minneapolis
Play, connect, build! There will be featured performances by Brass Solidarity and Alsa Bruno's Black People Win. Food will be available by Sisters' Camelot before the event from 6-7. Event Link
Inaugural Full Moon Drum Circle
July 11, 8-10pm (location tbd)
We welcome the community to come together to honor the full moon! Bring your own instruments or use some of ours! Led by Arcadian, EPNI’s Community Coordinator. Keep an eye on EPNI's calendar and social media for more information.
EPNI Seed Saturday Volunteer Time
July 19, 11am, East Phillips Community Garden, 2428 17th Ave S, Minneapolis
Help maintain and take care of the East Phillips community garden! This is a space to learn and ask questions about the East Phillips Urban Farm project while also getting your hands in the dirt. We will start at 11 and work for a few hours, with the end time determined by how long that day’s garden tasks take to get done.
Rain Barrel talk and giveaway
July 24, Little Earth Gym, 2501 Cedar Ave S, Minneapolis
On July 24th, MWMO and EPNI will be working together to put on our inaugural rain barrel workshop. This event will be small, so please register here.
EPNI Nature Crafts
July 30th (location and time tbd)
Join our farm team for nature crafts in the garden! We will be doing some beading, painting, and hanging out in the garden together! Keep an eye on EPNI's calendar and our social media for more information.
EPNI Outdoor Foraging Workshop
August 23, 10am-12pm, Powderhorn Park
Save the date! In this workshop, we’ll work with Four Seasons Foraging. Increase access to fresh, healthy foods and effective medicines. Four Season Foraging connects you with the resources necessary to start harvesting and preparing wild foods and medicines. Space is limited so be sure to register here.
|
Check out and/or subscribe to our
EPNI's Calendar for updates and more events
|
Thank you to everyone who reached out to your elected city officials after an unexpected loss of funding for the East Phillips Urban Farm project at the State Capitol. It’s not too late to tell your representatives that you want to see a fair purchase deal for East Phillips. Find a sample script and contact information linked here!
Grants
This summer, we’ve been awarded two grants from the MPCA! We will use these funds to create an integrated renewable energy and energy efficiency plan for the Roof Depot site through the Local Climate Action Planning Grant and to build outdoor farm infrastructure on the site's parking lot through the Wood Waste Utilization Grant, including 24 raised beds, 6 compost bins and more.
We're also excited about our Urban Agriculture grant from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, which will support 12 educational workshops and summer programming for East Phillips youth.
You can chip in directly to support our efforts to meet our neighbor's needs and build climate resilient infrastructure in the heart of Minneapolis through a tax-deductible one-time or sustaining donation here.
We’re so grateful for the ongoing grassroots support that fuels this project.
|
What's going on in our ecosystem?
|
Submit to this newsletter!
Do you know of any job postings in the community? Events you’d like to share? Photos from one of EPNI’s events? Submit those here.
East Phillips Park Community Feedback Gathering by NACDI and MPRB
July 14, 5-6:30pm, East Phillips Community Center, 2307 17th Ave. S., Minneapolis
NACDI is co-hosting three events on June 16th, 30th, and July 14th, with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Join us to share a meal, conversations, and share feedback on three drafted designs for East Phillips Park in the East Phillips neighborhood.
Four Sisters Farmers Market
1414 East Franklin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55404 Four Sisters Urban Farm
Our market will be open weekly on Thursdays from 11 am - 3 pm until October 30. We welcome and accept SNAP/EBT benefits, Market Bucks, Gus Produce Market Bucks, cash, and cards. Stop by the manager’s table to see how $10 in SNAP benefits can get you *double* the money to spend on goods at the market. Be sure to check it out!”
Stay Healthy and Informed!
The East Phillips Health Team seeks to understand the health needs and concerns of Minneapolis residents, primarily those living in East Phillips. Learn more and find a list of related resources here!
|
|
