We still have a few opening for the summer riding program and for other Farm camps.

:: Click here to download Summer Horseback Riding Program Application (Embracing Horses)
:: Click here to download the 2011 Workshops for Young Children Application

Quick Pay Online:

Workshops for Young Children

Fun On Farm (7-10yo) $175.00 Storybook Farm (4-6yo) $175.00 Farm Membership (Jan 1 – Dec 31) $35.00

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During this holiday season, we wish you and yours blessings and peace.

Your year-end gift will make it possible to continue offering our programs to thousands of urban children and youth who do not have the opportunity to connect with nature and farm life.  The animals at TUF depend on the generosity of people like you for their feed and health needs.

TUF is a 501(c)3 organization and your contribution is tax deductible.  Because we qualify under the Denver Enterprise Zone, donations over $500 are eligible for a Colorado tax credit. You can send contributions to:  The Urban Farm 10200 Smith Road Denver, Colorado 80239 or you can make contributions through PayPal by going to the donation page at www.theurbanfarm.org.

Thank you again for your support.  We always say that The Farm speaks for itself – so we hope you will visit us in 2011 to see for yourself the little miracles that occur here each day.

The Folks at The Urban Farm

The Urban Farm 2010 Programs & Stats

Hello Farm Families and Supporters,

Click here for our holiday fundraising request and a fact sheet on our programs and statistics.  I hope you will open the files and read this information.  All donations are deeply appreciated  and many of you have given several times this year.

If you are so disposed, please share this email with family and friends who might be in a position to provide financial support to The Urban Farm.   Some employers match their employee’s contributions to nonprofits and may be supportive of the work we do here at TUF.  We can provide financial documentation and our IRS determination letter for interested contributors.

However you may be able to help The Farm, we are so grateful for your participation and for the opportunity to work with your children.

Have a wonderful holiday and see you in 2011.

Donna Garnett, Executive Director

Looking for a special present for the horse lover in your life?

Wondering what to do with your Embracing Horses rider during that long 6 week break?

Been thinking how fun it would be to have a few grown-up riding lessons?

We have just the riding package for you.

Donna Garnett and Tennie Bell of The Urban Farm are offering a

Holiday Riding Package Special

$180 for 4 lessons (must purchase by 12/24/10).

Private lessons offered for children and youth from the ages of 5 through 18 and adults.  Lessons are provided on our horses and ponies at The Urban Farm at Stapleton and are one hour in length. Tack is provided but students must provide their own SEI approved helmet.  Appropriate riding clothes and boots are highly recommended.  Both instructors are certified riding instructors.

Contact Donna Garnett at dmgdenver@yahoo.com or call 720-810-5475.

Contact Tennie Bell at tennie.1@netzero.com or call 303-548-5340.

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEA:

Now on SALE! While supplies last–you can buy a book, authored by a friend of The Urban Farm. Makes a GREAT gift for any animal lover!

Caring for our Companions, Heroes & Best Friends
A Collection of Columns from the Greely Tribune
by Misti Aas

Discounted Holiday Price: $9.95 (shipping and handling is extra)

Buy Now, through PayPal!

Thursday. December 9th from 5:45 to 7:00 pm

Dear 4-H Members and Parents,

On behalf of The Urban Farm (TUF) 4-H club, it is our pleasure to invite you to a winter gathering with acquaintances, fuzzy, hairy, and somewhat in between — The TUF 4-H Winter Holiday Celebration.

This event shall take place at our next general 4-H meeting at the farm on Thursday. December 9th from 5:45 to 7:00 pm at the regular meeting place inside the building. There will be game and activities; little yummies and gummies for the grumbling little tummies; winter stories for the Cloverbuds; and important town cryin’ announcements for the upcoming year.

This event is also a dessert potluck and we’ll need you to keep our bellies from a- rumbling. Please bring anything from gingersnap cookies to pumpkin pie and anything in between.   We will provide hot chocolate and apple cider.  It would be ever so nice if you would provide utensils and containers for your food, for our kitchen supplies are not well stocked.  We also welcome your great ideas for fun, festive games and good seasonal jolliness.

Whatever the reason, it is going to be a great winter season, so plan to help us welcome it in with your presence at this winter holiday event.

Warm regards in this cold holiday season!,

Alexis Haynes,    Emma Gale,            Malia Mangham
(President)         (Vice President)       (Vice President)

Click here to read more about the Girl Scouts recent visit to The Urban Farm.

Click here to schedule a group tour at The Urban Farm!

Looking for something fun and educational to do with your kids?  Then 4-H is just the ticket.  Every Thursday evening from 5:30 – 6:45 pm through November, TUF is holding informational sessions for parents and kids to learn about the 4-H projects available at The Urban Farm.  Last week we spent an uproariously funny hour teaching lambs to walk on a leash!!!!  What a rodeo that was!  Join us for one or more of the sessions and find out about the many advantages to being a 4-H member at TUF.  Following is the schedule:

Nov. 4   Cloverbuds ( children 5 – 7 years old)
Nov.11   Non-livestock projects (e.g. shooting sports, gardening, photography, etc.)
Nov. 18  Large Livestock – Cows, pigs, horses
Dec. 2    Veterinary Science

TUF 4-H General Meeting

The November general 4-H meeting will be this Thursday (November 4) from 5:45 til 7:00 pm  Officer elections will be held.  All Farm participants are encouraged to participate in 4-H.  Plan to join us.  The Cloverbud informational session will be held at the same time.

In The Dark

We are literally in the dark – in our indoor arena.  Almost half of the huge lights in the indoor arena have burned out and we are teaching our evening Embracing Horses classes in a twilight setting. The replacement costs of each bulb is $258.  We need 12.  We have found a distributor who will sell us each light for $159.  Would you be willing to sponsor one big light bulb for the indoor arena?  If so, please send a check to The Urban Farm and make a notation in the memo line that you are sponsoring a light bulb.

Embracing Horses Winter/Spring Registration

Earlybird Registration forms will be sent out this week to all currently enrolled riders in Embracing Horses.  Forms and payment must be received no later than November 15 to ensure guaranteed enrollment and get the 12% earlybird discount.  Space is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis.

TUF Fundraising Committee Update

We still need to raise $40,000 by the end of 2010. Thanks to Kim Downing for facilitating the TUF Fundraising Committee.  Four subcommittees have been formed and your energy and expertise is needed on one of these committees.  Please contact Kim at kmangham@bigplanet.com to get more details as to how to be involved in helping TUF raise money to continue our programs.  The subcommittees are:

1. Small grant writing: This is something you can do from your own computer, on your own time.  It takes about 5-6 hours to complete and yields between $1,000 – $5,000.00.   We have the information you need to get started.
2. Large Grant writing: This takes 15-20 hours to write but the pay-offs are larger—anywhere from $5,000 – $30,000.00 (or more) These run about 4-8 pages long with 10-20 attachments.   Time is spent researching foundations and grants, and fine-tuning the grant application to fit the specifics of the organization we are requesting funds from.  A grant template has been developed.
3. Event planning: Several events – small and large – are planned.  These are projected to bring in from $7,000 to $15,000.
4. Sales of TUF Products: This can be anything from pony rides to birthday parties, garden plots, horse shows  and rental space.

Congratulations

Emma Gale, Alexis Haynes, and Malia Mangham had a great showing at last week’s Hunter/Jumper show at Hobby Horse Farm.  Three first place ribbons for Alexis and Doc, two seconds and a fifth for Emma and Gatan, and a first place ribbon for Malia and Bugsy.  Unfortunately, Bugsy stepped on Malia’s foot doing a bit of damage and resulting in her having to scratch from the remaining classes.

A $100 donation buys 20 bales of hay–enough to feed all the TUF animals for one day. Join the hay challenge today. Send a check or make a donation through Paypal now:

A big thank you to those who have already donated.

FARMFEST: SAVE THE DATE — September 18, local bands will play their music at The Urban Farm to raise money for TUF programs.  Gates open at 1:00 with activities for the kids; music is from 3:00 – 7:00.  Ticket prices range from $5 — $20, children under 5 are free. Silent auction items will include a Thanksgiving turkey, urban trail ride, birthday party at TUF, etc.  Contact austinsirus@yahoo.com for more information.  Bring your own lawn chair.

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4-H@TUF — Kids from the Urban Farm just finished Adams County Fair last week.  As in past years, we will take a break from 4H meetings for the remainder of the month of August.  The next 4H meeting will be September 9 from 5:45 – 7:00 pm.  This will be an end of the year meeting mostly focused on wrapping up Fair.  The first meeting of the new 4H year will be October 7 from 5:45 – 7:00 pm. :: Click here to view the 4-H Meeting Calendar

• Perennials (herbs, ornamental, fruit, vines) and spring bulbs.
• 1 ton or ¾ ton newer model, road-worthy pick-up truck with no more than 150,000 miles on it (must have a towing package and class 4 hitch).  Children and animals will be passengers in this vehicle.
• Larger tractor with implements (eg. bucket, snow plow, rototiller, mower, harrow, etc).
• Sheets of plywood to repair animal shelters.  Need 1/2 inch or 3/4 inch plywood.  No particle board please.

Springtime at The Urban Farm at Stapleton

Unbelievably, summer is quickly drawing to end.  From a farming perspective, that signifies that harvest is eminent.  This is the time of the year where hay is most plentiful, and can be purchased at the best price.   Thus, we are launching our 2nd annual “hay challenge” at The Urban Farm.

The hay challenge works this way: someone or some entity contributes a sum of money to be used for hay for the animals and challenges others to match some portion of the challenge.  A $3,000 challenge has been committed and so the fun begins.  The challenge is to match this sum within two weeks.

For the better part of 2010 we were paying $10.50 per bale of hay.  We have been working with a farmer in the Longmont area who has agreed to sell us an entire hay field to us for $5.00 per bale.  Do the math–this is less than half of what we paid last year.  The bales weigh about 75 pounds each and are high quality organically-grown hay.  A $100 donation buys 20 bales of hay – enough to feed all the TUF animals for one day.

Hope you will help us meet the challenge.  As always you can send checks or donate via Paypal:

And, of course, you can always designate your donation be used a different way.

Thank you very much for your support!

RESCHEDULED OPEN HOUSE AT TUF –  Saturday, June 26  10 – noon (free tours).  $5.00 horse rides for the kids (4H Fundraiser); bouncing castle; Feed Denver farm market, magical worm juice, compost for sale.

RESCHEDULED 4H Club Fundraiser – Saturday, July 3  5:00 – 8:00 pm  Hazel Miller Band Concert at Stapleton Founders Green – The 4H kids will be selling concessions.  All concession proceeds will help with 4H expenses at county Fair in August.

GARDEN VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – If you enjoy gardening, feel satisfied endlessly pulling weeds, enjoy planting seedlings and transplants, don’t mind getting wet from watering veggies, then we have the perfect volunteer job for you this summer.  Call Donna at 720-810-5475 or send email to dmgdenver@yahoo,ocm.

4-H Monthly Meeting — Thursday, June 17 — 5:45 – 7:00 pm.

4-H Fair Meeting – Tuesday, June 29 -  5:30 – 6:30  All Fair participants  must attend to finalize Fair forms.

Kitten and Baby Bunnies need good homes!  We have 5 show quality meat rabbits for sale (you don’t have to eat them they also make exceptional pets.  They need to be re-homed immediately (re-homing fee = $25).  Ten week old grey male kitten – well socialized and litter box trained – needs loving family.  Re-homing fee is $20.  Call Donna today at 720-810-5475.

4-H Project Meetings  — Day                                 Project                                Time                                    Leader
3rd Tuesday                        Goats and Sheep               4:30 – 6:00                         Meri
3rd Thursday                       Goats and Sheep               4:30 –6:00                          Meri

GENERAL MEETING 5:45 – 7:00                         All 4H Members
4th Tuesday                        Goats and Sheep               4:30 – 6:00                         Meri
Poultry                                4:30 – 5:30                         Donna
4th Thursday                       Goats and Sheep               4:30 – 6:00                         Meri
Swine                                  5:30 – 6:30                         Khadija and Stephan
Breeding Goats                 4:30 – 5:30                         Leda
Growing Good Food        5:00 – 6:00                         Kim
Cloverbuds                         4:30 – 5:30                         Lisa
4th Saturday                       Poultry                                10:15 – 11:30                    Donna
5th Tuesday                        Fair Meeting                      5:30 – 6:30                        All Fair Participants

Summer Program for Young Children at The Urban Farm

Wondering what your kids can do all summer at The Urban Farm?   Children and youth can ride horses and learn how to care for them.  They can enjoy the experience of feeling freshly tilled earth or sitting on a log watching a couple of baby goats suckle from their momma then bounce away chasing imaginary butterflies.  They can sit under the shade of a tree and learn how to knit from a ball of yarn that they spun themselves.  Or, they can wander through the garden picking their own vegetables to eat for snack.  There is sleeping out under the stars after cooking hotdogs over a fire and experiencing that quivery feeling in the pit of their tummies from telling slightly scary stories and then hearing coyotes howl in the distance. They might give a miniature horse a bubble bath and learn how to make old-fashioned strawberry jam.

Sound like fun?  Then open the attachments and register your child in one or more summer activities today.  Space is very limited and registrations with payments are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

:: Click here to download form

The Urban Farm’s signature program, Embracing Horses is an extremely popular program in which children ages 5 through 18 learn to care for and ride horses. A skills-based program, children progress through a variety of levels of riding and horsemanship. The program includes opportunities for kids to ride once a week as well as opportunities for youngsters who are interested in becoming accomplished equestriennes and in competing at local, regional, or even national levels. Embracing Horses has a great track record for launching girls, especially, into science-related fields of study. Yearly, about 360 kids participate in the program.

:: To Register for Classes AND to pay through PayPal, click here

Don’t want an Art Lottery ticket?   We’re creating our own stimulus package!  Help us fight this recession by enjoying a fun, inexpensive night out.  Enjoy some great jazz, wine, good food and great company!  Ticket price now ****$20.00****!!

Tickets are available online at www.theurbanfarm.com or call Lisa at 303-501-9364
WHEN: SATURDAY, SEPT 26TH, 2009
WHERE: 200 SANTA FE DRIVE, DENVER, CO, 80223
View Larger Map

ART FOR THE ANIMALS is a Fundraiser to be held Saturday, September 26, 2009 at Denver Urban Homesteading.  All proceeds will help feed the animals at The Urban Farm. 

The Urban Farm is a 16-year old 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization providing direct programming for approximately 3,000 children a year to teach agricultural and environmental education to urban and at-risk youth and their families.  We do this by helping to create a sense of positive self-regard and self-reliance, a strong work ethic, and hope.  The underling value of The Urban Farm is that urban children will be exposed to the positive values of farm life-respect for the environment, appreciation for animals and plants, team spirit and the satisfaction of hard work leading to a job well done.  A side effect of The Urban Farm is that kids find a sense of belonging and independence, in short, a sense of community.

Don’t want an Art Lottery ticket? We’re creating our own stimulus package! Help us fight this recession by enjoying a fun, inexpensive night out. Enjoy some great jazz, wine, good food and great company! Ticket price now ****$20.00****!!

Tickets are available online at www.theurbanfarm.com or call Lisa at 303-501-9364

ART FOR THE ANIMALS is a Fundraiser to be held Saturday, September 26, 2009 at Denver Urban Homesteading. All proceeds will help feed the animals at The Urban Farm.

The Urban Farm is a 16-year old 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization providing direct programming for approximately 3,000 children a year to teach agricultural and environmental education to urban and at-risk youth and their families. We do this by helping to create a sense of positive self-regard and self-reliance, a strong work ethic, and hope. The underling value of The Urban Farm is that urban children will be exposed to the positive values of farm life-respect for the environment, appreciation for animals and plants, team spirit and the satisfaction of hard work leading to a job well done. A side effect of The Urban Farm is that kids find a sense of belonging and independence, in short, a sense of community.

Hello Urban Farm Community!

Welcome to springtime at the Farm.  This is such a great time of year to visit the adorable new farm animals—have you seen those cute new baby goats? We have some baby miniature Pygmys and Nubians!

Miniature / Pygmy Goats at The Urban Farm

It’s also that time of year to jump in and help with the Children’s Garden!  We want to invite the entire Urban Farm Community to join us in preparing the beds and planting for this season’s delicious crop of veggies.  We are very excited to be able to participate in a Community Supported Agriculture (“CSA”) with Sense of Colorado, run by Master Gardener Debbie Dalrymple.

If you are interested in knowing more about the CSA, please read below at the end of this letter.  It’s a great opportunity to get fresh, crisp veggies grown close to home.

We are working in our Gardens over two weekends; The Big Kick-Off will be this Saturday, May 23 at 9:30 a.m.  We will spend the day preparing the beds.  We will work on Sunday and Monday (Memorial Day) as needed. The next weekend, May 30 and 31, we will be planting the veggies. Those days we will begin at 9:30 as well. We will be working all weekend on both weekends until the job is done, so if you cannot make it out in the morning, don’t despair!  We will have experts on hand to tell you what to do.

This is a great way to meet other Urban Farm families, and give back to the Farm for all the amazing things they do for our children.  So if you give an hour or two, or spend the day with us, come join us!

Please bring:
Sunscreen
A shovel if you have it
Gloves

Please let me know if you plan to attend, and which weekend (I want to plan for refreshments!) You can respond to this email or call me at 303-753-8846. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.

Click here to contact Kim Downing, The Urban Farm volunteer.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of “shares” to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share and in return receive a box of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season. The benefits of a CSA are:

• The weekly box of fresh just picked veggies bursting with flavor grown close to home.
• You connect with a community of people who celebrate eating well, living green, and reducing their carbon footprint.
• There is Peace of mind, knowing you support local, organic farming that’s good for you and good for the Earth.
• Your food dollar goes into the local economy.

If you are interested in receiving additional information about the Sense of Colorado CSA, please visit their website at http://senseofcolorado.com. There are a limited number of work-exchange shares available to Farm Families.