Activist

For the past thirty-seven years, a non-profit organization sought to bring sustainable gardening to the San Francisco Bay Area one sale, one class, one gardener at a time. This non-profit is Common Ground, a loved pillar in the green community of Palo Alto, CA. Common Ground is actually an offshoot of another non-profit organization, Ecology Action. Ecology Action was founded in 1972 to research and develop a high-yielding, sustainable agricultural system that emphasizes local food production and is based historically on intensive gardening systems. The system is called GROW BIOINTENSIVE. Ecology Action needed to promote this "new" system of agriculture and chose to use education and training as the avenue. Common Ground sprung forth as a store-front dedicated to providing all the needed materials for the GROW BIOINTENSIVE system and train individuals in sustainable gardening and land use processes.

Today, Common Ground is run by center director, Patricia Becker. This enthusiastic woman manages the actual store, coordinates classes, edits a newsletter, and runs a demonstration garden at the same time. Not a small list of things to do.

I visited the storefront last weekend and was impressed by what I found. The actual storefront itself is small but clean. Everything is there for the novice gardener or the experienced horticulturist. Tools, seeds, soil amends, plants, and so much more may be found there. All of the profit goes simply in sustaining Common Ground and their demonstration garden. The staff is very knowledgeable and helpful to all that walk in. Do not worry if you do not know anything about gardening or if that green thumb actually seems to be black. Just step right in and ask any of their helpful staff, such as Don Lawson, for some great quick tips.

What if you need more than quick tips? Well, Common Ground has multiple levels of gardening education for you. First, Common Grounds has a small but complete selection of literature of gardening for sale. Most important in their library is How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops Than You Ever Thought Possible On Less Land Than You Can Imagine, the primer on sustainable Biointensive Mini-Farming by John Jeavons. Next, Common Ground has a multitude of classes at very reasonable rates. The classes range in topics from yoga for gardeners, growing biointesive composting, to rainwater harvesting. If you can think of the gardening topic it is most likely being taught in one of their two hour classes. The price is very reasonable at thirty dollars. Finally, if you still aren't sure about striking out on your own into the sustainable gardening model then Common Ground provides a number of business affiliates in the area who are familiar with sustainable gardening and the methods used at Common Ground.... read more

If you're in the UK and looking for an extensive directory of green, organic, and fair trade products and services, check out The Green Providers Directory. 

The Green Providers Directory is a free, not-for-profit directory founded by Dr. Gary Robertshaw in 2005.  You can find all sorts of products and services, from wine to clothes to renewable energy suppliers. You'd be surprised at how many green products and services are available.
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KeenforGreen.com is proud to present another installment in a series of profiles of organizations or companies involved in the sustainable movement. We are promoting these organizations to help them gain exposure and attract volunteers and funding.  But really, we just wanted to talk about some of the good people are doing.

These organizations or companies are run by people that decided to make a difference. We hope their example inspires you to get involved or even start your own group in the same vein. If you are a member of such an organization or company or want to give credit to such an organization, please e-mail me at sean@keenforgreen.com with the details.

The format of these articles is simple. I ask six questions and reproduce their responses. I let the organizations tell their stories since they do it so much better than I could. So without further ado, let me present...

Avi Green Now!

Avi Green Now! is an educational venue and a community service organization, founded in January 2009 by Michal & Avi Lenchner.  The venue serves the entire San Francisco Bay Area.  Avi Green Now! strives to education and increase public awareness to living green, healthy homes, greener communities and healing the planet.  Through our eco-presentations series, we encourage people to get the latest information, suggest practical tips,inform about risks and options and guides on how to make green choices. 

1. Why, how, and when did your organization come about?

Our family has a passion and a strong commitment to the environment. We, Michal and Avi, have been green activists for many years and have a growing passion for a healthier environment.

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