WHEN	WHERE	WHAT	LOCATION
2006
Sat. Oct 21 Mel Speaks at 9am and 1 pm	Orange County , CA	8 am to 3 pm $33.00 ($7 more for lunch if desired) University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program  - 4th Annual Fall Gardening Seminar Open to the Public	Huntington Beach Central Library 7111 Talbert Avenue Huntington Beach , CA http://www.uccemg.com/seminar/ uccemgseminars@yahoo.com
Aug 21-25, 2006 12:30 daily	BYU Education Week Provo , Utah	Education Week Registration Required http://ce.byu.edu/ed/edweek/index.cfm	Brigham Young University Provo , Utah Taught by Mel Bartholomew, Karen Bastow, Pat Westaway
Sat. May 6	College Station , TX	10:30 am – Sorry, Texas Master Gardeners only	Master Gardener Convention
Apr. 20-28	Bermuda	Grow Bermuda Program Various times and dates	Botanical Gardens
Sat. Apr 20	New York City	All day booth	Union Park Square
Tue, Mar 14	Boston , MA	10:30 am	Bayside Expo Center
Sun, Mar 12	Chicago , IL	1 pm.	Navy Pier
Sun, Mar 5	Philadelphia , PA	4 pm	Convention Center
Sat. Feb 11	Atlanta , GA	Noon	Convention Center
2005
Sep.	Laie , Hawaii	Week-long seminars , talks and classes	BYU-Hawaii Campus

 

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October 2006

Orange County Master Gardeners Present

Square Foot Gardening by the originator and author,

Mel Bartholomew

 

at the Huntington Beach , Calif. Main Library Sat Oct 21 2006

 

Session A-1  Square Foot Gardening - Mel Bartholomew

Part I 9 AM till 10:30 AM

Almost 25 years ago Mel Bartholomew developed the concept of Square Foot Gardening, a way to maximize the use of garden space.  Reduce, reuse and recycle are the basics of SQF and Mr. Bartholomew will explore them all in this presentation.  Mr, Bartholomew, a retired civil engineer, has appeared on the Home Grown series on PBS-TV and is the author of the book "ALL NEW Square Foot Gardening."  He will autograph and sell his books at his book table.

 

Session C-3 Square Foot Gardening, Part II - Mel Bartholomew

Part II 1:30 – 3 PM

This follow-up to the morning presentation will provide an opportunity for gardeners to who want to learn all the practical details of SFG.  Whether School Gardens , Table Top Gardens for the elderly, Sit-down Gardens for those who have difficulty stooping and squatting, or any of the many variations on the theme of SFG this session will have answers to the questions. After this session, you will be able to go home and

start your own SFG.

 

The ALL NEW Square Foot Gardening Autographed books will be available for sale

For Registration or Seminar Questions call 714-708-1606, ext 300

 

 

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Spring 2006

WHERE’S MEL?

    

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Fall 2005

WHERE’S MEL?

     Mel has just returned form an exciting and eventful 2-week trip to Hawaii – yes, Hawaii!! He went to teach and set up workshops and a SFG Training Course at Brigham Young University-Hawaii in Laie on the island of Oahu, home of Pearl Harbor and Honolulu.

     This BYU-Hawaii campus caters to many students from all the Pacific Rim countries and teacher Mel conducted Special Certification classes consisting of both classroom theory and outside in the garden experiences to the largest group ever taught. Well over 50 certified as SFG teachers. Certificates were presented to the graduates who included not only students, but faculty, staff and townspeople, as well.

Mel Bartholomew demonstrates how 
a square foot garden might be planted.

 

     Mel was invited to teach in many of the different college departments from biology to entrepreneurship to social studies, illustrating the vast appeal of SFG as well as the adaptability and far-reaching influence of SFG in our daily lives – anywhere in the world.

     The visit all started last winter when Richie Norton of the BYU-Hawaii campus was attending a worldwide Micro Enterprise Conference at the Utah-based BYU campus in Provo, UTAH. Larry Busby, who heads up the SFG Humanitarian efforts, was attending as well as manning a SFG booth with Mel. Richie approached them and expressed the desire to have SFG brought to his campus in Hawaii.

     Fast forward to the recent trip which culminated a great deal of planning and preparatory work by Richie and another staff member, James Bybee. James became so interested in SFG when the idea of Mel’s visit was presented, he immediately built his own SFG at his home and started composting. Everything was such a success he joined the effort to bring Mel to the BYU-Hawaii campus. Following is James’s report of this experience and outlines planned future activities.

 

                   To:                                                           From:

Aloha Mel, Sept 25th 2005                James C. Bybee

                                                        Employer Relations Manager

                                                        Brigham Young University Hawaii – Career Services

 

     Here are some things we can accomplish over the next few months. First understand my vision for this program with BYUH in general. I see this campus as a launch pad for SFG into all parts of the world. This semester we have 1,200 international students from 74 different countries. Many if not most of these students come from developing nations or poor communities. Most of them come because they would never get a college education otherwise. After graduation most will return to fulfill the mission of the school based on the premise that they will “return and serve”.

     SFG can be a great asset to their communities if they learn the system here and return ready to hit the ground running. I want to have an educational operation based on this campus that can train and prepare anyone to be an affective teacher, operator and producer of the SFG system. In effect what I might call “Mel clones” or “Duplication”. After the system is running it could be used as a model to enlist other campuses/orgs around the world as a base for duplication. I feel we will be able to get a team together hopefully by this spring/summer and go to a target country and put SFG in action.

     At BYUH we will start with organizing a composting operation that can create and manage large amounts of Mel’s mix for use on the campus and to sell for fund raising. This will be the number one priority at first and plan to have everything in place to begin in the next couple of weeks. We would set up sources for the materials for composting and for the boxes and grids as well, a well oiled machine promoting recycling that we could get in and on the news easily as we live on an island that is suffering the effects of heavy population and a drain on resources not to mention dealing with waste.

     We will also have a campus student org/club centered around SFG. This org will help promote and organize campus and community service projects utilizing SFG and establish a sustainable/ongoing service nit. We will organize projects (working gardens) on and off campus.

     We will also see about developing a community outreach class/program through the center for instructional technology and outreach. This would be an ongoing afternoon or weekend course. We will be able to certify teachers and operators of the SFSG method for the community and the world.

    Certain countries and students from those countries would be targeted and trained.

     Another goal is a Laie community farmers market. As you mentioned non-profit franchises could be available for other countries. Those interested could come to a boot camp held on the campus and experience conditions similar to much of the developing world. The possibilities are endless. . . . . !

     My pledge to you is to plan, organize, and carry out all of this by being the onsite manager at BYU-Hawaii for the SFG Foundation. Thanks for your help and time here. It was a very energizing and fulfilling moment in my life.

Mahalo, James

 

     James’s garden was so successful, he entered the SFG photo contest and won an honorable mention prize. He is also turning out a good blended compost in just 6 weeks with a lot of mixing and mashing going on.

     In addition to all the talks and workshops Mel was doing,, Square Foot Gardens are being added to the LDS Church gardens for married students and faculty, as well as several demonstration gardens right on campus at the women’s dormitories. Mel was even interviewed for the BYU-Hawaii TV station.

Mel, Allen & Richie in the BYU-TV Studio

 

     A major compost operation has also begun utilizing the campus cafeteria food-prep wastes, as well as the grounds collection of grass and plant trimmings. These operations will then be offered to other college campuses around the world as an example of the importance of ecological and 3 R (reuse, reduce, recycle) projects that can easily fit in with campus life and operations.

 

     More SFG Teacher Certification classes in the mainland USA are being planned. The next one will be on the BYU campus in Provo, UTAH, Saturday, Oct 15, 2005, from 10:00 am to 12:00 p.m. so watch the SFG website for announcements and details to appear soon. This will be a good event for all those in the Salt Lake area to attend either a basic class or even start their teacher certification process. Another event being planned for the spring of 2006 is a weekend at a luxury resort in UTAH. Another idea would be to have another weekend next fall in Hawaii at the BYU-Hawaii campus. How would you like to come to that one?

     There will be others in UTAH and we hope to eventually have them all over the country. This will allow you to be trained to speak or even teach SFG in your own area.

     In addition, we are also working on a mail order or e-mail certification course which will be available worldwide. That will produce some exciting results.

     Another exciting event that started in Hawaii is one student from Taiwan approached Mel after one of the classes and asked if he could become an apprentice for SFG. He was willing to come to UTAH, train for a year and be allowed to return to his homeland to teach SFG and start community projects or a humanitarian project. By the time Mel left the campus, 4 other students volunteered to do the same, so a brand new Apprentice Training Program is being organized and these first 5 men will go to the following countries: Brazil, Philippines, Mexico, Taiwan and Italy.

     Our humanitarian fundraising program is coming along nicely. Some have sent a lump sum check while others have pledged anywhere from $20 to $100 dollars a month for the next year. If you would like to help, please be assured that 100% of your donation will be used exclusively for the humanitarian projects around the world. Send a check or pledge on a credit card to the SFG Foundation, 3615 Wolf Creek Drive, Suite W12, Eden, Utah 84310. It will be greatly appreciated and it is all tax deductible. You will receive a thank-you letter acknowledging your donation and our tax exempt number.

 

Best wishes for continued success with your gardens!

SFG Foundation

 

     P.S. This next item has nothing to do with all of the above but is so exciting and interesting, I just had to include it here. This is part of a letter from Jim T. in Draper, UTAH - one of our garden photo winners.

Fall 2005

     Hi Mel: My SFG has been bigger and better than ever. I had over 100 ears of fresh, sweet corn grown in one 4X4 section. I have now had a spring crop, and summer crop, and have just planted my late fall crop-all salad greens. My tomato plants are all 7 feet high with tons of tomatoes, and all my zucchini squash are very tall as well. I have spaghetti squash all over the tower, carrots still growing great, a lot of beans left, and a great crop of herbs. Pizza has never been as good as this summer with fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh garlic, and fresh oregano. I tell everyone they ought to switch to SFG !

 

    

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 Square Foot Gardening Goes Hawaiian

By Shanna Francis, Editor of THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS - Sept. 29, 2005

     In September, I followed the author of the number one selling gardening book of all time—Mel Bartholomew—to Hawaii where he taught students at the BYU-Hawaii campus his revolutionary gardening method—Square Foot Gardening (SFG). The goal was to teach students at the institution, who come from over 70 nations, this revolutionary gardening method so they can, in return, share what they’ve learned with their home countries around the globe where it can be successfully incorporated in just about any clime or geographical region of the world. By teaching others in their homeland the square foot gardening method, families can learn to raise gardens simply and cheaply, growing fresh vegetables to supplement the nutritional value of their diets. Improving diets decreases the spread of, and susceptibility to, disease and life threatening health problems. Families living on marginal incomes in developing countries can also grow produce to sell at local markets to supplement their meager budgets and, thereby, improve their quality of life. Within just a few days, hundreds of students were taught skills that can make all the difference in the life of thousands more who will, in turn, be taught the Square Foot Gardening method from these students trained and certified as SFG teachers from Bartholomew.

Students from the BYU Hawaii campus train with Mel Bartholomew of Eden UTAH to teach Square Foot Gardening to nations around the globe.

     Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening method uses only 20% of the space, 10% of the water, 2% of the seeds, and only 1% of the work of traditional row gardening. Because Square Foot Gardens uses a perfect soil mix and are grown on top of existing soil, or in mobile garden boxes, there is no hoeing, tilling, or arduous weed pulling; any weeding that may become necessary can be done within seconds versus hours. In developing countries, this soil is composed primarily of compost made from native materials.

     Mel’s gardening book, Square Foot Gardening, has sold over a million copies since its initial publication in 1981, and has introduced thousands to the joy and benefit of gardening. Bartholomew’s goal is to teach the people of the world to feed themselves in an effort to eliminate world hunger and malnutrition.

 

     Representatives from BYU-Hawaii invited Bartholomew to their campus because his mission coincides with the goals of the University’s. On February 12, 1955, David O. McKay, then President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, founded the Church College of Hawaii in Laie on the Windward side of Oahu, about one hour’s drive from Honolulu. McKay initially envisioned the school, renamed BYU-Hawaii in 1974, during a 1921 visit to an elementary school flag-raising ceremony in Laie. The occasion is depicted in a large mosaic mural above the foyer of the David O. McKay Building at the entrance to the campus.

 

     In President McKay’s groundbreaking address, he stated, “ . . . from this school, I’ll tell you, will go men and women whose influence will be felt for good towards the establishment of peace internationally.” The university focuses its efforts on educating the minds, hearts, and character of students; not only sharpening their intellect, but their desire to serve. Students are taught and encouraged to embrace the opportunities and challenges of an increasingly global society and to share what they learn from their educational experience when they return home as a way of improving the conditions of their own communities.

 

BYU Hawaii students participate in a hands-on work day in Oahu, Hawaii, building SFGs. Here they carry a 4 ft by 4 ft box with grid to its garden location.

     Wiwasak Saakha, a student from Thailand, is one of the many who caught the vision of Square Foot Gardening during the week Bartholomew spent teaching at the BYU-Hawaii campus. Wiwasak stated, “Square Foot Gardening is a great business opportunity for me that fits my needs, and the needs of my country. I love the idea and want to apply this in my homeland. Square Foot Gardening will help Thailand’s future and its 65 million people. Sixty-four percent of Thailand is involved in the agriculture industry. I will take back what I have learned as part of the mission of this university.”

     Kim Austin, director of Career Services for BYU-Hawaii stated, “Square Foot Gardening at BYU-Hawaii is one of the most exciting things that has happened in a long time on this campus. It is a real tool that our students will be able to apply. They can take what they have learned and use it in their own countries. It is exciting how Square Foot Gardening and its possibilities have taken hold on this campus—by our students and the staff.”

     BYU-Hawaii is a four-year undergraduate institution. Educating 2,400 students each year from 70 countries in Asia, the Pacific, the U.S. and other parts of the world, BYU-Hawaii has the most international student body in the United States. Among universities that exclusively offer bachelor degrees, U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks BYU-Hawaii among the best in the western United States.

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CLICK HERE to see where Mel's been in the past!!

All above names and included material are copyrighted by Mel Bartholomew and any extended use by others except for review, brief descriptions, and credit mentions, must receive prior written permission.