Building household and community self-reliance by transforming our homes and landscapes into productive, resilient ecosystems

The backyard garden is potentially the most productive means of growing food on the planet. With a bounty of inspiring sites and speakers in our Sustainability Series, Project Homegrown is about moving you from inspiration to implementation. Centered in Petaluma but applicable anywhere, we support citizens in turning their landscapes and neighborhoods into thriving communities.

In 2008, 6 urban households grew over 3,000 pounds of food, harvested 4,000 pounds of community waste stream to compost, planted 50 fruit trees and hundreds of varieties of edible and habitat plants, installed rainwater catchment, bees, chickens, ducks and the first permitted household grey water system in Sonoma County. We reduced waste, water and energy use, expense, apathy and fear while redirecting dollars to green, local choices.

We grow hope, community, skills, education, habitat, policy change and engaged citizens who are feeding and inspiring neighbors and reclaiming our future. Regardless of resources and whether you rent or own, are urban or rural, it’s about cultivating the resourcefulness, relationships and proactive audacity to turn large problems into elegant, tasty, eco-efficacious solutions. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being proactive and committed to learn, do, share what you live and keep growing. Are you ready to move from fear and apathy to inspiration and from inspiration to implementation?