Katherine Whalen is fundraising
Help us fund the Hildegarden at St. Francis!
My name is Katherine, and I'm the Garden and Community Outreach Manager at St. Francis of the Woods. I find joy in sharing food with my neighbors, passion in creating a more equitable food system, and healing in a reciprocal relationship with Mother Earth. I am excited about some big changes for the garden in 2021 that align with our values and mission. I'm writing today to ask for your help to bring these changes to fruition!
We are in the process of shifting the garden to be an educational, regenerative, and community-centered space. The south half of the garden has been recuperating for the last year and is ready to be planted with a variety of perennial berries, flowers, and medicinal herbs, focusing on native plants and plants that are adapted to grow easily in our climate. We aim to create a system that requires less watering and gives back to the soil as much as it takes from it while creating a beautiful and peaceful space for guests, retreatants, and students to learn gardening skills and spend quality time with Mother Earth.
Additionally, we are hoping to construct a hoop house to extend our growing season and allow us to grow more vegetables and expand our partnerships with our neighbors in Langston and Guthrie.
Another exciting change is the renovation of our self-serve farmstand. We are remodeling a section of the Washhouse to provide space to sell produce, plants, baked goods, and artwork. Visit us this spring to see what we’re growing, baking, and creating!
Lastly, we are renaming our garden "the Hildegarden," in honor of St. Hildegard of Bingen, a medieval mystic who published works on herbal medicine, theology, and music. Hildegard was known for using creativity as a form of prayer and being in tune with the earth, and we are proud to name the garden after a mystic who, like St. Francis, reflects the ideals of environmental stewardship and recognizing the Divine in the natural world.
Like many non-profit organizations, the pandemic has been hard on us financially. Overhauling the garden is quite costly, and I am calling on our loving community to help! If you are in a place to donate, any amount will help us, even $5 (that’s a packet of seeds!).
If you are not in the financial place to donate, you can visit our wishlist of seeds and plants. Perhaps you have some spare seeds at home or a plant you can share a cutting from! Please email me if you have any plants or seeds not on the list that you’d like to share.
Thank you so much for supporting our mission to renew our spirits and transform the world through community, creativity, and care for creation! Reciprocity with Mother Earth is at the heart of our growing practices, and we are excited to expand our garden space to align with our mission. Thank you for joining us in this journey!
With gratitude,
Katherine
$200 - fruit trees for the permaculture food forest in the center of the garden
$250 - garden infrastructure (stepping stones, a bird bath, and a bench)
$250 - beneficial insects and several sections of plants specifically meant to attract them and keep them in the garden.
$300 - panels for the trellis archway (we will grow vining plants on the trellis, which will provide a shady place of rest and a fun tunnel for children - and adults - to frolic through!)
$500 - we would like to donate at least this amount in produce to our neighbors in Langston and Guthrie (the more money we raise, the less money we need to make from produce sales and the more we can share with neighbors in need!)
$500 - herb, berry, flower, and vegetable seeds, bulbs, cuttings, and soil for starting seeds
This is the start of our trellis tunnel! We had 4 panels donated and need 6 more to extend it the length of the garden!
We covered half of the garden in cardboard and mulch to let it rest and add organic matter to the soil!
Now it is ready to be planted in perennial herbs, berries, flowers, and native plants!
We are in the process of shifting the garden to be an educational, regenerative, and community-centered space. The south half of the garden has been recuperating for the last year and is ready to be planted with a variety of perennial berries, flowers, and medicinal herbs, focusing on native plants and plants that are adapted to grow easily in our climate. We aim to create a system that requires less watering and gives back to the soil as much as it takes from it while creating a beautiful and peaceful space for guests, retreatants, and students to learn gardening skills and spend quality time with Mother Earth.
Additionally, we are hoping to construct a hoop house to extend our growing season and allow us to grow more vegetables and expand our partnerships with our neighbors in Langston and Guthrie.
Another exciting change is the renovation of our self-serve farmstand. We are remodeling a section of the Washhouse to provide space to sell produce, plants, baked goods, and artwork. Visit us this spring to see what we’re growing, baking, and creating!
Lastly, we are renaming our garden "the Hildegarden," in honor of St. Hildegard of Bingen, a medieval mystic who published works on herbal medicine, theology, and music. Hildegard was known for using creativity as a form of prayer and being in tune with the earth, and we are proud to name the garden after a mystic who, like St. Francis, reflects the ideals of environmental stewardship and recognizing the Divine in the natural world.
Like many non-profit organizations, the pandemic has been hard on us financially. Overhauling the garden is quite costly, and I am calling on our loving community to help! If you are in a place to donate, any amount will help us, even $5 (that’s a packet of seeds!).
If you are not in the financial place to donate, you can visit our wishlist of seeds and plants. Perhaps you have some spare seeds at home or a plant you can share a cutting from! Please email me if you have any plants or seeds not on the list that you’d like to share.
Thank you so much for supporting our mission to renew our spirits and transform the world through community, creativity, and care for creation! Reciprocity with Mother Earth is at the heart of our growing practices, and we are excited to expand our garden space to align with our mission. Thank you for joining us in this journey!
With gratitude,
Katherine
$200 - fruit trees for the permaculture food forest in the center of the garden
$250 - garden infrastructure (stepping stones, a bird bath, and a bench)
$250 - beneficial insects and several sections of plants specifically meant to attract them and keep them in the garden.
$300 - panels for the trellis archway (we will grow vining plants on the trellis, which will provide a shady place of rest and a fun tunnel for children - and adults - to frolic through!)
$500 - we would like to donate at least this amount in produce to our neighbors in Langston and Guthrie (the more money we raise, the less money we need to make from produce sales and the more we can share with neighbors in need!)
$500 - herb, berry, flower, and vegetable seeds, bulbs, cuttings, and soil for starting seeds
This is the start of our trellis tunnel! We had 4 panels donated and need 6 more to extend it the length of the garden!
We covered half of the garden in cardboard and mulch to let it rest and add organic matter to the soil!
Now it is ready to be planted in perennial herbs, berries, flowers, and native plants!
- H
- S
- K
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