Meet LandPaths - Sharing Our Love Of Nature Every Step Of The Way

Bayer Farm Neighborhood Park and Gardens is proud to once again be a site for the Free Summer Lunch Program, designed to serve children in low-income neighborhoods.  In collaboration with the Redwood Empire Food Bank and with the assistance of St. Joseph’s Health Systems and numerous neighborhood volunteers, all children under the age of 18 who come to the volunteer-run program are given a freshly-prepared, nutritionally balanced lunch for free.  The program runs Monday through Friday, 11:30-1pm throughout the summer, and we are averaging 80 children a day! 

Of course, having the program at Bayer Farm offers so much more than just a free lunch to the kids – they have the chance to run around, help in the garden, play games, do arts and crafts, and best of all, to form a connection with nature.  The kids especially love sitting in the willow tree, helping to water the plants, exploring the tall grasses and hopping from one hay bale to the next! 

Stop by to lend a hand or just explore the gardens. Click here for directions and more info. If you would like to help at free lunch, we could use more volunteers to help set-up and serve lunch or lead worthwhile activities with the parents and/or kids. Being bilingual is a plus but is definitely not necessary! Please contact Magdalena for more information at 707-544-7284 x11 or Magdalena@LandPaths.org.    . 

Bayer Farm - growing local food and community leaders like LandPaths volunteer Ivan Chang (thanks Ivan!).  Read more in this write-up in the Press Democrat  - and then lend a hand on the farm this Friday, May 14, 2-5pm!

Kick off the iGROW weekend at Bayer Farm!  Grab your sun hat, shovel, friends and family to participate in a garden workday filled with activities for all ages. Help LandPaths and Conservation Corps North Bay as we install a habitat garden, make garden flags, plant the summer teaching garden, and clean-up potential hazards at Bayer Farm in Roseland. Following the afternoon of working in the garden we will celebrate Bayer Farm and the Roseland Community with snacks and live entertainment from the local group the Imaginists!

Friday, May 14 - 2-5pm at Bayer Farm in Roseland (1550 West Avenue, Santa Rosa - visit link for map)

For more information and to RSVP contact Conservation Corps North Bay at (415) 884-3524 or email takingroot.bayerfarm@gmail.com or contact LandPaths at 707-544-7284 x11.

LandPaths' Bayer Neighborhood Park and Gardens has joined the Sonoma County iGROW effort and is looking forward to seeing this great program expand over the upcoming years. iGROW seeks to improve the health of Sonoma County residents by increasing access to healthy food. This partnership of community leaders and organizations is committed to improving the health of all Sonoma County residents and hopes to:

• Encourage people in all parts of the county to grow their own fruit and vegetables
• Inspire people to create neighborhood garden groups and new community gardens
• Connect experienced gardeners to beginning growers
• Strengthen our communities by sharing food and life skills
• Help people find local sources of healthy food

LandPaths and Bayer Farm are supporting the iGROW program by providing information to local residents on how they can start their own garden, and by holding open workdays, demonstrations, and workshops throughout the upcoming months. Learn more about this program and how you can get involved - including the 350 Garden Challenge.

September 7, 2009, Press Democrat: Advocates for healthier school lunches dined Monday on organic goat meat tacos, vegetarian tamales and home grown vegetable dishes as they gathered in a Santa Rosa community garden to write letters to Congress and sign petitions. The aim of more than 300 such "eat-ins" across the nation is to boost federal funding for the National School Lunch Program so school districts can buy locally produced food. Read more at the Press Democrat...

Volunteers contribute tens of thousands of hours each year to parks throughout Sonoma County—from inventories and trail building to habitat restoration.

LandPaths’ vision for "Community-Powered Parks" harnesses this desire to connect with the land and expands it beyond workdays and volunteer patrols— engaging volunteers as community leaders. In this economic climate, such volunteers can be the difference between closing parks and creating thriving park communities where both the visitor and the land benefit.

In these times of strained budgets, LandPaths supports full funding for our park agencies and 'Community Power' to extend resources further.

Three sites where you can see stages of Community-Powered Parks in action are the Grove of the Old Trees, Bayer Farm and the Willow Creek State Park addition/subunit where LandPaths manages both public access and land stewardship in partnership with public agencies and non-profits.

Come on by to explore Bayer Farm in Roseland.  Enjoy garden
activities, arts & crafts for the kids, and community fun.  Bring your friends and family.  All ages welcome. Open Gardens now every Friday from 2-6pm.

Bayer Neighborhood Park and Gardens is a unique collaboration between Santa Rosa Recreation & Parks and the local non-profit LandPaths. It is a 6 acre city park and urban farm in the heart of the Roseland neighborhood, with old barns, beautiful gardens, and plenty of ways to relax and have fun.

Garden Story Time & Family Fun
Every Saturday morning, 10am-noon
Dig into bilingual, nature inspired stories and enjoy the new park and community garden. Garden activities, arts & crafts, free play and more.

Garden Workdays
Every 3rd Sunday, weather permitting
Lend a hand with seed starting, mulching, composting, & more. All ages welcome-no experience necessary

WHERE: Bayer Farm- 1550 West Ave, Santa Rosa (across from Sheppard School) West Ave runs north/south between Hearn and Sebastopol Road in the Roseland neighborhood.