Living Green: Growing Food in the Desert--Cultivating Sustainability

Learn about all the benefits of growing food locally, including in your own backyard, by attending our Living Green series. We’ll cover the basics for successful gardening and how to start a community garden. Also learn about small-scale farming ideas, potential funding opportunities, and technical assistance provided by the Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Then hear more about Mesa Urban Garden, one of Mesa’s most successful community gardens, located near downtown. Of course, we can’t talk about gardening without providing helpful information about composting, too.

The program includes a short overview of the City’s Climate Action Plan and our commitment to making Mesa a greener community. Sustainable food systems play an important role because how we produce, process, transport, and dispose of our foods contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.

Presenters include Laurie Blitz, Master Gardener and Operations Coordinator for Mesa Urban Garden, Donna DiFrancesco, Conservation Coordinator from the City of Mesa Environmental Management & Sustainability, and Philip Jacquez, Organic Champion and Supervisory Natural Resource Specialist from the Natural Resource Conservation Service.