YES! East Side LEAFLET

Thank You Mary Helen!

2012-01-17T16:05:00.002-05:00

Trees NC's youth environmental service program YES! is fortunate to have the support of many outstanding individuals and organizations. Randolph County Horticultural Agent and Trees NC board member Mary Helen Ferguson is at the top of the list.
For the past three years, Mary Helen has played a leading role in YES! educational programs. Whether it be teaching the basic skills of pruning apple trees, reading a soil sample analysis, or planting a vegetable garden - Mary Helen has served as an outstanding mentor for the YES! team members.
This month Mary Helen completed her term as board member for Trees NC. And, it is with the greatest appreciation that we give her our thanks. We are especially excited to know that Mary Helen plans to continue her service as a Trees NC volunteer. Mary Helen - you are the best!

Bountiful Harvest

2010-11-29T12:49:00.024-05:00

Trees NC's East Side Community Garden in Asheboro has been the scene of many a joyful gathering over these last few months. As the colorful Carolina autumn rolled in, vegetables were harvested and garden beds were replaced with winter crops.

Under the direction of Trees NC volunteer and "Garden Mistress" Deb Andrews, a loyal team met every Monday afternoon for gardening projects. James, Bob, Vastine, Deb and other residents of East Side Homes collaborated to decide which vegetables would fill the raised beds. Weeding, watering and mulching set the stage for laughter and lively conversation.

The East Side Community Garden has produced fresh healthy vegetables that were shared by garden participants and friends in the community. The garden provided exercise for senior citizens and educational opportunities for youth at the neighboring Central Boys and Girls Club.

But, perhaps the greatest bounty of all has been the friendship and increased understanding that has grown between the diverse team who worked hard for two years to keep this project vital and alive.

Thanks to all that have supported the East Side Community Garden!

(A special thanks goes to The Park Foundation, Resourceful Communities Program, Randolph Hospital Community Health Foundation, Natural Resources Conservation Service, The Rural Center, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, Weed N' Win Garden Club, The Boys and Girls Club of Greater High Point, Weston's Feed and Seed, and Gold Hill Rd. Landscape Supply and Landfill.)

YES! East Side Teaches Green Skills

2010-10-10T10:56:00.005-04:00

As autumn approaches, the timing is right to plant trees!

In Asheboro's historic East Side neighborhood, the YES! team joined together to help a minority business owner comply with the city's planting ordinace.

Opening is business is always a challenge.

In a neighborhood struggling to overcome an atmosphere dominated by drug activity and associated crime, developing a legitimate business is especially challenging.

When a minority property owner had the opportunity to rent a long vacant building on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive for the development of an auto repair shop, new city ordinances required both the paving of the building's parking lot and the addition of landscaping.

There just wasn't enough money to accomplish both jobs.

YES! East Side came to the rescue by pledging to provide both the plants and labor for the landscaping project. Nearly fifty youth from the Central Boys and Girls Club gathered to dig the holes, plant the trees, mulch and water! In the process the children had the opportunity to work with tools and learn the proper method of planting and caring for trees. In years to come, the trees that were planted will provide fresh fruit for children and adults in the neighborhood.

Late Planting

2010-08-13T08:52:00.000-04:00

The day the Little Eagles have been anxiously awaiting finally arrived today...late summer vegetable planting. We planted collards, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, swiss chard, cabbage and lettuce. The kids lovingly planted the vegetables in the community garden bed and will water and care for them and wait for the magic to happen!

Community Anti-Litter Walk

2010-08-12T08:21:00.000-04:00

Today a group of YES! East Side youth went on a community trash clean up walk, that turned out to be an overall teachable moment. We alerted Asheboro Police Department that we would be making this walk, and they did a wonderful job of being within eyesight of our travels the entire morning. As they did their community policing effort, we witnessed several incidents that involved questionable activity and the police catching those involved. The youth enjoyed seeing this and it was a great time to reinforce that we all have decisions to make, and if you make the wrong ones there are consequences. Hopefully these youth are at a very impressionable age and watching these incidents today will leave a lasting impression as they get old enough to start having to make those decisions. Oh yeah, and we picked up a ton of trash!

Field Trip Day #2

2010-08-10T08:16:00.000-04:00

Having recovered from a big day at the NC Zoo yesterday, today YES! East Side took another Field Trip...this time to Asheboro Recycling Center. Thanks to Kim Markham and his staff the kids were given a great tour of the plant, where the watched the process of how aluminum cans are prepped for recycling, as well as cardboard. The kids were even given the chance to stand together on the big scales at the facility and see how much they collectively weighed which they thought to be hilarious. ARC staff member Melinda gave the kids a very informative overview on recycling--what can be recycled as well as what those materials can be recycled into later. A very fun morning indeed!

YES! East Side Takes to the Zoo

2010-08-09T08:07:00.000-04:00

Yes! East Siders took to the NC Zoo today and although the weather was pretty warm, everyone had a great time. For several of the youth, it was their first time to visit the zoo. We started the day off with our own private educational session with Zoo Staffer Bob Langston who did two programs with the youth--one on Big Sweep and one on Recycling. The programs were very informative and the youth asked great questions. Then the youth were able to divide into groups with an adult and tour the zoo for the rest of the day at their leisure. Everyone met together to enjoy lunch. It was a very exciting and fun day...we barely noticed the heat!

We're Official...Looking

2010-07-30T12:17:00.000-04:00

A group of leaders from the YES! East Side program enjoyed dressing up in new YES! East Side Team Leader shirts while they prepared for a three part program they will soon share with the Little Eagles. The topics are Saving Water, Recycling, and Taking Care of our Environment. Leaders received a shirt to take home and a shirt to keep at the Club for group projects.

Now, let's be honest--what a great looking group of leaders!

Recycling Education

2010-07-28T12:09:00.000-04:00

YES! Eastsiders took recycling to a whole new level (isn't that what recycling is all about?) when they took the time to learn more about recycling and then recycled that information to the Little Eagles group. From a tire and car battery to bottles, milk jugs, newspaper and motor oil, the group learned how to properly dispose of these items and what can be made out of them when recycled. When working with the Little Eagles and discussing the right way to dispose of motor oil, several children chimed in regarding the BP oil spill in the Gulf and aired their concerns. Just goes to show that these young people will make a difference in our world!

Walking Away Litter

2010-07-20T17:59:00.000-04:00

YES! East Side members took a walk around the neighborhood and down to Trees Asheboro's Central Park area to collect litter. Broken into teams of three and armed with gloves and trash collection bags, the teams were in an all out sprint to collect garbage. The challenge had been given to the teams before starting that the team with the most litter collected would win a prize. Watching the kids dash to pick up the trash that litterbugs had left lying around looked a lot like an Easter egg hunt! In the end, each team had collected quite a lot of trash and the sidewalks, streets and park area looked so clean and green. As for the winners? Everyone was a winner and received a sweet treat.

Little Eagles

2010-07-16T17:46:00.000-04:00

The garden beds are ready and the Little Eagles are just waiting on the time to be right to do some late summer planting. We sneaked a couple of plants in the dirt today just to get our hands dirty and now we are really excited about filling those garden beds with more vegetables in a couple of weeks...stayed tuned.

Mulch Madness

2010-07-15T17:24:00.000-04:00

Mulch Madness has broken out in YES! East Side. Thanks to the generosity of Gold Hill Rd Landscape Supply for a mountain of mulch, our kids used teamwork and problem solving skills to make a noticeable difference around the Central Boys & Girls Club and East Side Homes. We had designated mulch loaders, wheelbarrow drivers and rakers and spreaders. Everyone had a job, but most importantly, every made a difference...and everyone had fun! Even a few of the seniors from East Side Homes wanted in on the fun and helped load mulch!

Weeding Day

2010-07-06T17:02:00.000-04:00

Today was Weeding Day for YES! East Side. Our youth team leaders lead two groups of youths in clearing out the weeds in two natural areas, making way for new mulch and new life. The youths discussed how the weeds were taking away water for the trees and plants and right now with the heat and dry conditions water is in high demand. All of the youth worked very hard to do a good job of cleaning out the areas to prepare them for something better--a big component of YES! East Side...preparing ourselves and our environment for something better! And after the hard work in the heat of the morning, everyone gathered in the shade for a cold, frozen snack!

A Lesson in Soil

2010-07-02T22:55:00.000-04:00

Today YES! East Side participants got their hands dirty. Randolph County Cooperative Extension Agent MaryHelen Ferguson and Caitlin, an intern from NC State, included the YES! East Side kids in a soil testing program in Asheboro. In a time frame of about 2 hours, we hit approximately five sites, taking five samples at each site. The kids learned first hand the difference in soil, as well as the need for soil testing when planting. Thanks to Timmy ("Dig-it"), they also learned a little about pruning trees, pulling weeds, picking up litter, and music from before their time! All in all a very educational and hands-on project and a fun Friday field trip!

Friendship & Leadership

2010-07-01T08:04:00.000-04:00

A candid moment during a YES! East Side Project that shows we aren't just building leadership, but friendships as well. Looks like a good team!

Fruity Fun!

2010-06-30T16:22:00.000-04:00

Another exciting day in YES! East Side! Today our Youth Leaders visited Asheboro DayCare's Little Eagles class for a little tasty lesson on fruit. The Leaders told facts about fruit and led discussions. We had a taste test with blueberries, honeydew, kiwi fruit (or hairy potatoes as one child called them), lemons (imagine the faces!), red plums, and bananas. We also had one fruit which no one present had seen before--the horned melon. It looked rather frightening on the outside with it's spikes, but almost even more frightening once cut open with its bright green jelly-like insides. Many braved the sight and tasted it. One child, when asked if she would like to sample the unusual fruit stated, "No thank you. I don't eat food that is spikey." All in all it was a great way to learn about fruits and the youth leaders did an awesome job!

Leadership Kickoff Day!

2010-06-29T10:54:00.000-04:00

The YES! East Side project kicked off bright and early Monday morning with the team leaders orientation. The five youth leaders shared ideas, asked questions, and learned about traits that leaders posses. The youth were reminded that others see them as a leader and they should see themselves as one as well! It was a great way to get the excitement flowing for the upcoming weeks. After some indoor brainstorming the group moved outdoors to the community garden and had their first experience of working together as a team. The leaders prepped two raised beds for the younger youth to plant in on Wednesday. Great ideas, great times, great relationships...a great start!!

Bounty grows in East Side garden

2010-06-11T17:44:00.000-04:00

By: J.D. Walker, The Courier-Tribune

The Trees NC Summer Programs at East Side is underway and I’m jealous. These youngsters and senior citizens are well ahead of me in the garden.

Trees NC sponsors the YES! (Youth Environmental Service) East Side program at East Side Homes on Watkins Street in Asheboro.

Owen George, one of the Trees NC founding members, said the projects include the East Side Community Garden, urban tree care projects, litter walks, stream watch programs, tree nursery management, and a summer mural project.

Grants from Resourceful Communities, Randolph Hospital Community Health Foundation and the Weed N Win Garden Club provided the funds to construct raised garden beds for the East Side Community Garden.

Just take a look at what they’ve grown so far. For an even better look, check out the color pictures on our online home and garden page at www.courier-tribune.com.

I saw these pictures from Owen and I was certain they had to be from last year. It looks like they are harboring the squash plant that ate New York, for heavens sake! I, on the other hand, just finished planting my first batch of squash and cucumber plants while on vacation.

Owen said great care has been taken to construct raised beds that would compliment the historic old school. The school was built in 1911 with materials donated by Julius Rosenwald of Sears, Roebuck and Co. fame. It was one of 800 schools in North Carolina to be built through volunteer labor and the philanthropy of the retailer.

In recent years, local activist Addy Luther was able to get federal funding to convert the building to an adult living facility. Now 18 apartments house many of the people who once attended the school as children.

The raised beds appear to be producing pretty well. Owen tells me the gardeners are motivated to keep things as organic as possible. It seems to be working. I’m going to have to see if I can contract these guys to come work in my garden. If you want to know more about the Trees NC Summer Projects, you can contact Owen at 625-4384.

The preceding excerpt is from an articled titled Bounty grows in East Side garden by J.D. Walker of Asheboro's The Courier-Tribune. Click here for the full article.

YES! East Side 2010 Underway

2010-06-11T17:27:00.000-04:00

Summer projects include: the East Side Community Garden, urban tree care projects, litter walks, stream watch programs, tree nursery management, and a summer mural project.

For more information, contact YES East Side youth program coordinator Robin Breedlove: 336-963-2245.

Grants from Resourceful Communities, Randolph Hospital Community Health Foundation, and the Weed N Win Garden Club have provided new raised garden beds for the East Side Community Garden.