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The Encinitas Rotary Club requests $3,000 for the planting of 50 fruit trees as an enhancement to the Encinitas Community Garden. The budget includes 50 mature trees, organic planting mix and mulch, supportive retaining walls, and irrigation trenching and materials. The Encinitas Community Garden has partnered with the Encinitas Union School District to utilize a portion of land owned by the school district as a community garden and educational site. This site is located on Quail Gardens Drive, in the heart of our community, and is convenient and easily accessible to school groups. We will organize educational workshops on sustainable growing practices that will instruct children on how to replenish the soil and enhance biodiversity in their school garden without the use of toxic chemicals and with minimal water use. School groups will visit the garden to learn about sustainable growing techniques and habitat conservation. School children will be able to observe the types of plants and animals present in the garden and learn about the biology of the garden and concepts such as symbiotic relationships. Also garden space will be set aside for Encinitas 4-H clubs to conduct their educational livestock stewardship programs. The educational component will teach school children in our community to sustainably raise organic, healthy and sustainable food in light of growing resource scarcity, and will teach the ability to raise food safely and economically so as to reduce dependency on expensive and unhealthy alternatives. The fruit trees for which funding is being requested form an integral part of the overall education element. Funding for the trees and related construction and materials will be shared by the Encinitas Rotary Club ($3,000), the Encinitas Community Garden ($2,960)(through the Encinitas Rotary Club), and District 5340 Matching Grant ($3,000).
Addendum to Project Description (added after the project was signed)
The project was delayed 8 months for the city to determine a community garden was permitted on this property that is zoned agricultural. All permits have been approved and the project is under construction. On February 27, 2-15, the Leichtag Foundation, the entity that purchased the Ecke Ranch property adjacent to the project obtained the 50 fruit trees as a gift from the grower, The Encinitas Rotary Club committee met and the related construction for the garden and the planting of the trees in the ingress and egress to the gardens. Pursuant to this the committee approved that up to $6,000 be spent for 165 yards of decomposed granite (dg) and 70 yard gravel for garden entry.
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