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Gardeners Of Destiny

Prescott Food Forest Continues to Grow with Your Support

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On behalf of our growing team of gardeners, volunteers and students, I want to invite you to join us, too! What are you waiting for? Let’s get growing!

An amazing phenomenon is happening at the Prescott Forest @ B Organic Farm in Chino Valley.

Passionate and inquisitive Quad Cities residents are pitching in to help manage and harvest our growing garden beds and greenhouse.

Each Saturday, there’s a garden project party, which brings together families and individuals that enjoy fellowship, food, music and of course, gardening projects that need to be worked on. This combination has proven successful as each week we have between 10 and 15 volunteers picking fruits and veggies, planting new crops and weeding. The indoor greenhouse has cooled air, so we offer both options to participate.

Another milestone was met when we hosted the first Gardeners Of Destiny Kids Boot Camp where Stephane Leon led a four-day introduction to kids, ages 5-12, and their moms. It was a total success and brought together like-minded moms who know the value of teaching their kids how to grow food. Our goal has always been to teach the next generation this important life skill.

I am proud to announce our next Gardening Course “Autumn Gardening,” including how to plant and care for fall and early winter crops. The class is $99 for eight weeks but we are offering full scholarships (limited) in exchange for 10 hours of volunteer time. This model was very well received in previous courses. Go to prescottfoodforest.com<http://prescottfoodforest.com for more information or to  register. The classes run from 10 a.m. to noon, Aug. 19 to Sept. 23. These classes have sold out so reserve your spot today. Families are welcome too!

One of the great benefits of this program is all the fantastic people that want to help and learn more about gardening.

I’d like to give a big shout out to Doug and April Rich for their help and for sharing our mission. Also Nick and Kim Plancich and their daughter, Shelby, for volunteering and sharing our mission with their family and friends. That’s how this has grown, organically (pardon the pun).

We are seeking schools and clubs to work with to expand our greenhouse capacity and to lead a pumpkin-planting project as a fun competition with prizes and awards. If you would like to have your school or organization participate, call or email me directly.

On behalf of our growing team of gardeners, volunteers and students, I want to invite you to join us, too! What are you waiting for? Let’s get growing! QCBN

By John Murphy

John Murphy is the executive director of Make 100 Healthy Inc., an Arizona 501 c 3 non-profit. He’s also a Prescott-area realtor and can be contacted at John.teammurphy@gmail.com or 928-899-1341.

Prescott Food Forest Gala Marks a Major Victory for Gardening Education Programs

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There has never been a more important time than now to learn or expand your ability to grow food.

On Tuesday Feb. 21, at The Club at Prescott Lakes, we hosted a Victory Garden Gala to raise awareness and funds to support the Gardeners Of Destiny (GOD) gardening education training program at B Organic Farm, Chino Valley.

The evening was a total success. More than 125 people from all sectors of our community came to support our mission to empower people to grow food for health and self-sustainability.

I am grateful for the support from our sponsors, donors, friends and neighbors. I want to thank Ed Walsh and Bob Knudson from Lamb Cadillac for their generous primary sponsorship and also Grayden Guilford and Pinnacle Bank for their gold sponsorship. Your donations allowed us to accelerate our plans and efforts!

A special note of appreciation to Ken Lain and Watters Garden Center for their sponsorship and donation of a fruit tree orchard as part of our live auction. Ken was also the keynote speaker, sharing his first-hand experience seeing the shift toward edible growing and backyard gardening to fight inflation and to ensure healthy food consumption. His expertise and insights were enjoyed by all.

I was honored that Prescott City Councilman Steve Sischka attended as a sponsor with Olsen’s for Healthy Pets, as well as Dan Olsen, who offered a beautiful blessing before dinner. I am proud that my wife, Lisa, was a sponsor with Silver Sands Recovery. Special thanks to Quad Cities Business News, Toby Ebarb with Legacy Roofing, Mark Womack with Womack Construction and Brian Wirick of Sterling North Homes for their sponsorships. Vickie Johnston from H20 Health not only sponsored the event, but contributed a whole house water filtration system for our live auction. I have gratitude for the Barley Hound and the Vivili Group for donating a private culinary experience for eight at the Barley Hound, with a personalized chef’s dinner.

I want to thank many local individuals and businesses for donating items, experiences and art for our silent auction and raffle items. We truly live in a giving and supportive community. All told, we raised close to $30,000 and netted close to $20,000. This provides the needed resources to grow and expand our efforts.

The evening started with a soulful musical performance by the very talented Kenny James. The food, prepared by Chef Matt at The Club at Prescott Lakes, was delicious. They also donated a private chef’s dinner for six and a round of golf.

I was proud to present the 2nd Annual “Arline’s Angel Award” (in memory of my mom), which is presented to someone who reflects the giving nature my mom had. We awarded Stephane Leon, a local schoolteacher and the designer of our logos, website and the evening’s program guide, as this year’s recipient. Most importantly, she is the director of the Gardeners Of Destiny training program, which just completed the eight-week winter greenhouse growing course and was well received.

In that regard, we are offering a Summer Growing course starting Sat., April 29 for eight weeks. If you would like to participate, we have a few spots left. For more information, please visit prescottfoodforest.com. To apply for a full scholarship, you need to commit to a minimum of 10 hours of volunteering at B Organic Farm. Everyone seems to love this win/win deal.

Finally, I am thankful for our team of volunteers that worked tirelessly to help plan and execute the outcome we achieved. Specifically, I want to thank Ann Herrington, Susan Rubio, Rhonda Clark, Debra Ott, LeRoy Miller, Wendy Lancy, and Betty and Bob Knudson for their time, effort and heart to make this event a Big Victory to continue our education and growing food programs.

There has never been a more important time than now to learn or expand your ability to grow food. You are welcome to join us as a volunteer, student or donor for our scholarship drive. Together, we are making a difference and positively impacting our community by teaching gardening skills and building new friendships with like-minded people. Yes, this is a place for people to grow together, so let’s get growing! QCBN

By John Murphy

John Murphy is a realtor and founder of Make 100 Healthy. He can be reached at 928-899-1341.

Prescott Food Forest Finds a Home in Chino Valley

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All we need is 15 to 20 volunteers to give three hours per week to substantially increase our growth and giving potential.

It is an honor and a pleasure to share my thoughts and perspective on living a healthy life with you. I am passionate about living a long and healthy life; hence, my nickname, “Your Make 100 Healthy Guy.” As the founder of the Make 100 Healthy Foundation, I am always exploring best practices for nutrition, exercise and an overall sense of well-being.

With that in mind, I am leading a Gardening Education Program to teach people how to grow food. We just needed a home. We were blessed with an amazing opportunity.

Enter B Organic Farm in Chino Valley. Mark and Ginny Bonacquista, the owners of a fully functioning five-acre working farm that already has three greenhouses, numerous raised beds, acres of in-ground gardens, a worm farm, a 50-tree fruit orchard and two large cisterns, reached out to us and offered their property to build and grow the Food Forest Gardening Education Center and our Gardeners Of Destiny (G.O.D.) training program.

“John and his Make 100 Healthy Foundation previously helped us by donating money and time to help us raise a barn. By doing so, we were able to open our second greenhouse, which enabled us to double our food production. We felt it was only right to return the favor and welcome the Food Forest here to B Organic Farm,” said Mark Bonacquista.

I’m proud to say that the Prescott Food Forest @ B Organic Farm broke ground with a free gardening class led by legendary gardener Daniel Blake, on Saturday, Oct. 22.

Stephane Leon, a local teacher and one of the driving forces in bringing this project to fruition, is leading the educational program and is excited to teach kids the joys and benefits of gardening. “Our first family class will be an eight-week Winter Greenhouse Gardening program, starting on Jan. 21,” she said. “Over the eight-week course, we will plant, grow and harvest what we grow.”

How can you get involved? First and foremost, volunteers are needed to tend to the gardens to maximize the full potential of food production and distribution. Mark Bonacquista said, “We have the potential to double and even triple our output, but we don’t have the help to do so.” All we need is 15 to 20 volunteers to give three hours per week to substantially increase our growth and giving potential. We are glad to teach, train and direct anyone who has the heart to learn and help us grow food. With the Food Forest team, we already have more help and that’s why we are keeping one of the greenhouses operational all winter long.

Now that the Prescott Food Forest @ B Organic Farm is up and running, what is the next step?

We are building a community of spirited people that all want to learn or teach people how to grow food. There are plenty of opportunities if you have a special talent you would like to share. Just reach out to me and we can add to our offerings. This project was intended to bring more awareness about and insights into healthy eating.

To accomplish our mission to build a sustainable gardening educational center with the means for long-term viability and long-lasting impact, we are holding a BIG Charity Victory Garden Kick Off Gala, 5-9 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 17, at The Club at Prescott Lakes.

There will be live entertainment led by Kenny James, a silent and live auction, prizes, giveaways and special keynote speeches from Ken Lain from Watters Garden Center and myself. All proceeds will benefit the Food Forest @ B Organic Farm Gardening Education Center and the Gardeners Of Destiny training program. Visit www.prescottfoodforest.com/calendar for tickets and sponsorship opportunities.

Please plan to bring yourself, your families and friends to experience why gardening is a lifelong hobby for so many! To contact me directly, email me at john.teammurphy@gmail.com or call 928-899-1341. You can find more information at www.prescottfoodforest.com.

Let’s get growing! QCBN

By John James Murphy

John James Murphy is a Prescott realtor at Realty ONE Group Mountain Desert.