Green Dragon Organic Community Farms is thriving in its first Frazier Park location (3433 Los Padres Drive) and is now opening the Florence Cuddy Farm in Lake of the Woods next to Cuddy Hall.

Founder Linda Robredo puts 20 hours a month into writing grants, she said, and their new red tractor is being used to help prepare the soil. Green Dragon has a goal to create part-time jobs for local youth. Robredo worked with the Kern County Planning and Community Development Department last year to craft a county ordinance to enable communities to grow vegetables in community gardens.

We’re Winning, We Need Your Support

Dear Friend,

I think we’re going to win this contest.

With your steady daily votes, we can win $5,000 for the Green Dragon Farms nonprofit community farm project. Rain Bird, the company that manufacturers agriculture irrigation devices, is running an Intelligent Use of Water contest on the internet that requires that the public vote for their favorite nonprofit community projects.

Projects that rank 1, 2, and 3 will win the award, and we are holding at second place. So, to win, all we have to do is stay at #2 until March 15 when voting ends and the grants are awarded. Please keep voting until then.

The money will be used for smart irrigation, materials and soil improvement at the newest Green Dragon Farms site, Florence Cuddy Farm.

To vote, just click on the link at www.MountainEnterprise.com (Community FYI, at the right side of the page) then click on the thumbs up “Vote Here” note you’ll see on the Green Dragon page. Please go back each day for another thumbs up vote for us. We need all the votes we can get, each day.

Green Dragon Farms is a nonprofit organization growing sustainable organic produce and distributing it to our community on a donations-only basis. We are the only source of organic produce in a rural community with high unemployment that is an hour away from any other source, except by subscription. We badly need a larger growing space, and the Rain Bird Intelligent Use of Water grant will help us achieve that for growing season 2012.

Check us out online at www.gdof.org (that stands for Green Dragon Organic Farms).

You can make a difference with just two clicks of a mouse.

Thanks so much for your votes. I can’t wait to be able to make the March announcement that this award is being granted to Green Dragon Farms!

Susan de Gaia, Ph.D.
Leader, Seeds and Propagation
Green Dragon Farms,
Frazier Park and Lake of the Woods

Volunteer Opportunities and Job Options for Youth

By Linda Robredo, President, Green Dragon Farms [www.GDOF.org]

The Green Dragon Farms community enjoyed a very successful first year. A second farm site, Florence Cuddy Farm (335 Lakewood Place in Lake of the Woods) is opening just east of the Cuddy Hall community building (at the southwest corner of Lakewood Place and Frazier Mountain Park Road).

Open farm days and hours will be Monday and Wednesday 3 p.m. to sunset. During those times, we invite volunteers of all ages and abilities to come help and work with us to build Florence Cuddy Farm—your next local community organic farm.

Organizations such as Young Marines, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Rotary, the Boys & Girls Club, 4-H, Future Farmers of America, Sierra Club and others who are interested in a group community service day are encouraged to contact Green Dragon Farms at 661-245-3000.

Frazier Mountain High School students who are interested in paid positions through Workability and the Workforce Investment Act should inquire at the school. Positions available include harvest, marketing, construction, soil science, seed and propagation, and organic produce plant tending for wide learning and skills development. Students can transfer up to internship positions for additional skill growth and future career opportunities.

Farm Manager at Florence Cuddy Farm is a local returning veteran. David Strom grew up in the Mountain Communities and will be heading home from the United States Navy on March 25. While employed by the Navy his hobbies included bonsai trees and fresh herb gardening. His college-bound career is engineering, inspired by four years with the FMHS Robotics team.

Other members of the Green Dragon team include: Construction and Irrigation, Shelley Borgstrom; Seed and Propagation, Susan de Gaia; Marketing and Distribution, Janice Keenburg; Compost and Chickens, Dee Sumner.

The schedule of Green Dragon Farms monthly workshops will be announced soon. Topicbased learning opportunities will replace monthly community meetings. to meet community interests and needs.

We look forward to a successful 2012 grow season. With our community we can grow a better tomorrow today.

This is part of the February 03, 2012 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you.