Help on the way for area gardeners

Gardening is about to get easier. Fair Food Matters, a Kalamazoo-area nonprofit organization that supports and promotes local food, has launched a new program to help area gardeners. As interest in community gardens, school gardens and backyard gardens has picked up around Kalamazoo so has the demand for information. The Garden Network will offer gardening information, resources and networking opportunities to anybody who grows vegetables, fruits or herbs throughout the region.   Shelly Claflin has been hired to coordinate the program for 2010. As program coordinator, Claflin will also connect gardeners with one another through an online discussion group and Facebook page. She will offer advice on how to find plants, equipment and other garden necessities. Claflin will conduct educational workshops and help coordinate the 2010 Kalamazoo Community Garden Tour. She also will help make sure excess produce is delivered to regional food banks. Claflin is a seasoned gardener and community organizer, and has coordinated garden projects in the Vine and Oakwood neighborhoods of Kalamazoo. She also has experience in the hospitality industry, as well as in nonprofit program management, event creation and fund development. Claflin earned a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in Cultural Anthropology from Western Michigan University. The Garden Network program is free of charge and available to all gardeners in Kalamazoo County. For more information, please contact the Garden Network. Writer: Kathy Jennings Scource: Paul A. Stermer, Executive Director, Fair Food Matters