Pialli, East Phillips and friends!
Welcome to our EPNI June Newsletter! May definitely had us on our feet. Now, the growing season is officially in full swing and we are so excited to share the progress we have made with your help at our garden sites.
In this month's newsletter you will find a recap of May, calls to action, upcoming events hosted by or in partnership with EPNI, highlights of our Seed Saturdays, poetry, and a community bulletin board where you can find events happening all over our community! (Spoiler alert, Pretty cool farmers market kickoffs!)
As always, thank you to our partners for hosting us and making these events and this ongoing 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!
Tlazohkamati huel miac, Much gratitude,
Chino (and of course, Willa, Arcadian, Eddy)
P.S. Hope to see you out there!
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May is National Strawberry Month, National Salsa Month, and National Salad Month, so naturally, it was a great month for gardening and plant sales. Hennepin County Master Gardeners, U of M’s landscape arboretum, Northern Gardener, Mississippi Watershed and more all put on their own plant sales, we tabled at two hosted by Tamales y Bicicletas Urban Farm and Four Sisters.
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We also had strong Seed Saturdays this month, a volunteer event we host biweekly. Our next one will be on June 7th – join us to help maintain and take care of the East Phillips community garden! This is a space to learn about the happenings with EPNI and also get your hands in the dirt. We may not be gardening the entire duration of the event depending on how much time each garden task takes but we will start at 11 and be there till 2 at the latest! If you’re interested in helping out during our Seed Saturdays, fill out this link here.
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Basket Weaving at Tamales y Bicicletas Urban Farm Plant and Bike sale!
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Searching for caterpillars at Little Earth!
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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
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Spread the word!
We would love to hear what kind of workshops or events you would be interested in.
Fill out our survey here
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Tekina (Teacher)
D’atakiha ka ahiarei’no lan ka katti.
Ka turey kena ka tokuya’no
abinaka oma da kamekwana.
Ka katti tekidaha’no, tiya eisahi’no
“toho le halika wo aynarawa ka onabo”
I practice the words of the moon.
The sky and the stars
dance with my people.
The moon teaches, she says
“this is how we change the world”
** The non-English language in this poem is Hiwatahia, the neo-Taíno language of the Higuayagua Taíno tribe that Arcadian is enrolled in. **
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EPNI Seed Saturday Volunteer Time
June 7, 11am - 2pm at East Phillips Community Garden, 2428 17th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN
Help maintain and take care of the East Phillips community garden! This is a space to learn about the happenings with EPNI and also get your hands in the dirt. We will be there at 11 but may not stay the whole time depending on how long garden task take to get done!
B50 Agri-cultural Event: Food, Farming, Forestry & Finance
June 21, 12:30pm at Bridal Veil Gardens, 2905 4th Street SE, Minneapolis, MN
BF50 Indigenous Health initiative in partnership with MPRB Bridal veil Garden invites you to join them for another Agri-Cultural Event with the James Beard Foundation Leadership Award Winner, Jim Embry! Creating Community Across Multicultural and Intergenerational Groups to Amplify Sustainable Practices.
EPNI Seed Saturday Volunteer Time
June 21, 11am - 2pm at East Phillips Community Garden, 2428 17th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN
Help maintain and take care of the East Phillips community garden! This is a space to learn about the happenings with EPNI and also get your hands in the dirt. We will be there at 11 but may not stay the whole time depending on how long garden task take to get done!
EPNI's Greens of June Workshop
June 25, 6-7:30pm at East Phillips Community Garden, 2428 17th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN
Celebrate the greens of June with Elsa Olivieri garden and compost coach! In this workshop, we’ll explore a variety of greens at their peak and how to harvest, store, and prepare them. We’ll discuss and try out some methods of preserving greens - like infusions, drying, and freezing - to extend their benefits long after the lush greenery fades. Join us for this workshop to ring in the summer season and make the most of today’s harvest!
People's Pride in Powderhorn Park
June 28, 12-4pm at Powderhorn Park, 3400 15th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55407
5th annual Minneapolis People’s Pride Event! Opportunities for artist vending applications and volunteers found here. Come together and celebrate!
EPNI's Outdoor Foraging Workshop
August 23, 10-12PM
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. There are limited spots, so pre-register here.
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Check out and/or subscribe to our
EPNI's Calendar for updates and more events
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This Life of Life
(Reflections after a day in the garden)
By Willa Bartholomay
Today all the wild words lined up in my head.
I was in the dirt and the sun,
My skin a mix of sweat, soil, and sunscreen
When we arrived at the East Phillips Community Garden a troop of 3-5 year olds made their way down the block
Swimsuits on, holding small watering cans in one hand and the plants they started from seed in the other
Ducklings waddling to their swim
Each one excited and joyful
Curious and determined
My heart soaring
They planted each seedling in a plot near the pear trees
One of the teachers shared,
“We didn’t know if they would grow, but we tried, put seeds in the pots, and now we have plants!”
In my mind I imagined these plants singing back and forth with their young friends as they find their way
Rooting
I thought about the way it feels easier to live when you want to
move forward, push forward
beside someone
I imagined this determination within the seedlings, and within these kids
It felt like a merging of seedlings from different species, a coming together of learnings.
Kieran and I out on the boulevard planting tomatillos, marigolds, and peppers, finding our way through the soil with our hands, pressing down on the roots, a gentle CPR to the new being in this new place
What a gift
This life of life
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At our second Seed Saturday of this past month Forest, Eddy, and I and amazing volunteers began weeding day lilies out of the front hedge of the East Phillips Community Garden, pulling and chatting and pulling and chatting. We found ourselves with piles of daylilies, making more space in the hedge in hopes of planting pollinators for the bees and bugs. Eddy and I were kneeling in the dirt observing the luscious root and stock of these plants, wondering: could we eat these? We chomp into them and they taste sweet and bright, a watery smooth flavor.
Then we spit them out in fear of poisoning ourselves before asking Forest. Together we look it up, and find they are in fact edible! (we advise you to look these things up before tasting!) With this new knowledge, the excitement grew in the group, we collected the plants and began the process of washing and cutting the roots. Below are some photos and recipes but beware if you collect your own, DAYLILIES ARE EXTREMELY POISONOUS TO CATS. You should also know whether the daylilies you're interested in have been chemically sprayed in any way.
How we processed our daylilies:
We pulled out the whole plant and separated the stock from the root and tuber. Then we washed the stocks, which can be used like any green; stirfry, cut up in a salad, anything you can imagine! As for the tubers and roots we washed them in water first and then separated the roots from the tubers using our finger nails to snip the root from the base of the tuber. From there, we took the different parts of the plant home and thoroughly washed all the dirt and bugs out. Once everything was washed, folks cooked the tubers in different ways. Forest roasted the tubers with some oil, salt, and green onion and Eddy added them to a stir fry! We hope this sparks some inspiration in the kitchen! Have fun and be safe when foraging!
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What's going on in our ecosystem?
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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.
Submit to the 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
WOUND CARE KIT PACKING
June 1st, 6pm
Windom Park, 2251 NE Hayes St., Minneapolis, MN 55418 Freedom street health
Bring a blanket to sit on! We'll meet at the corner of 23rd & Hayes.
“Although we will have supplies, please donate at the link in bio so we can purchase supplies in bulk!” Or, consider bringing items to donate , list can be found on Instagram @ freedomstreethealth
Four Sisters Farmers Market
June 5th, 11am-3pm
1414 East Franklin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55404 Four Sisters Urban Farm
Save the Date for the Opening of our Four Sisters Farmers Market
We’re excited to announce that the opening date of this year’s farmers market will be Thursday, June 5th! Join us for tunes, an opening day giveaway, and fresh frybread tacos from @pwg.frybreadfactory .
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!”
MIRAC No Ice Horchata fundraiser
June 6, 8am-10pm
6519 Nicollet Ave, Richfield, MN
Order an horchata with no ice and full sales will be donated to MIRAC @ Litos Burritos
Art in the Hollow
June 7th 10am-5pm
Swede hollow park, 665 Greenbrier St, St Paul, MN 55106
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!
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