The Community
Dear Community Members!
After much thought and consideration, I have officially decided to take a break from this community to focus more time with my young family! I plan to keep the community open through September 15th, 2024 (including courses, replays and materials!), and then I will close it down for the fall. I may reopen again at a later date, and I will be in touch when/if I do!
Thank you all SO MUCH for giving this community a try, and for all the feedback, words of support and encouragement! I have thoroughly enjoyed connecting with each of you and sharing in the collective gardening successes as well as the learning edges! I hope to stay in touch. It has truly been an adventure!
Thank you AGAIN! And please don’t hesitate to reach out and be in touch!
Allison
Hi! I'm Allison Houghton and I am a garden educator, mother, agroecologist, and soil nerd!
And I have an invitation for you:
What would it look like to focus on your own unique, incredible, and magnificent potential? Starting right where you are? What would it look like to have community support in doing that?
For me, that potential happens when growing plants. For two years, during the pandemic, I ran a neighborhood micro plant nursery called The Sparrow Underground Nursery in my backyard supplying hundreds of high-quality edible and native plants to neighbors and community members at a time when demand for plants skyrocketed. I myself found myself inspired by the simple but powerful idea that building resilience can start right where you are, even in one’s own backyard.
The very simple act of planting a seed is revolutionary. It is a vote for life. Plants are unbelievable powerhouses: generating oxygen, taking carbon out of the air, creating sugars (liquid carbon), and pumping them out through their roots to fuel a massive underground ecosystem that ultimately supports us all. We can learn from them and learn to create resilient landscapes, backyards, and communities.
I envision a community of gardeners, foragers, naturalists and soil builders that support each other in kindness, mutual respect, curiosity and bold action to realize this untapped potential starting in our own backyards and gardens. I also want to creatively imagine a regenerative business model that fuels this work of regeneration! And, of course, have fun while doing it!
What's in the Community at The Sparrow Underground:
A member community of gardeners, naturalists, planters, and soil builders gathering best practices, connecting and troubleshooting challenges to grow resilient, biodiverse, and thriving landscapes
Monthly live office hours to gather as a community as well as several opportunities to schedule 1:1 consulting calls to talk through your specific situation!
Monthly webinars on topics you help choose each season. Topics range from building soils, season extension, meadow building, organic pest and disease control, growing edible mushrooms, water management on landscapes, maximizing the harvest, and other creative crop options for large and small spaces. I'll be surveying the community for what topics you want to hear more about!
A seasonal community-wide challenge and access to previous season challenges.
Access to a growing library of presentations and resources on building resilience right where you are.
Previous Courses available in the community:
Soil Building Challenge: Grow Resilience By Growing Soil. An 8-week course on step-by-step ways to evaluate the soil you have and how to identify leverage points to grow healthier, more resilient gardens by focusing on soil health. Also available separately as a course here.
Winter Greens Challenge: How Much Can You Grow? Learn 3 simple techniques for growing greens in winter (indoors and outdoors) as a way to support you in growing nutrient-dense salads all season long!
Organic Pest and Disease Management Challenge: Learn how to prevent and effectively deal with common garden pests and diseases organically. From simple management tips to organic pesticides (yes, there are organic pesticides...) we'll review options to safely and effectively deal with problems in a way that supports the ecology of your garden.
Winter Propagation Challenge: Ever wanted to propagate SUPER cool plants like hickory, wild berries, meadow flowers or pawpaws?! Some of these wild plants can be tricky to propagate, but once you know their secrets, you can successfully grow them in your own backyard EVEN if you don't a lot of space OR sun OR soil! All it takes is a little knowledge and a little patch of earth (or porch or driveway or rooftop...).
I think of gardens as training grounds. You might only have a small garden, enclosed indoor space or backyard corner. Yet as you build the skills right where you are, you may start to see places in your community or neighborhood that could use your support in building carbon-rich soils, growing nutrient-dense food, holding more water and building habitat. There are opportunities all around us.
I hope you join us!
~Allison Houghton
A little bit about me:
I am a regenerative growing consultant, author, artist, mother, and educator on a variety of topics: soil health, ecological design, foraging, and climate resiliency! I started learning about soils, water, and our relationship to landscapes indirectly through a degree in Geology and Civil/Environmental Engineering at MIT. Some of my past work includes serving as the Education Director and Soil Health Advisor for the MA chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA/Mass), Assistant Grower and High Tunnel Supervisor for The Food Project farm in Lincoln, MA, and as the Director of Horticulture at Green City Growers building hundreds of gardens for growing food in the Greater Boston area. I'm also the author of the free NOFA/Mass publication The Carbon Sequestering Garden: Gardening for the Planet While Growing Some of the Best Food Possible as well as several other resources on growing food and supporting biodiversity creatively in small spaces.
I now live in Philadelphia, PA with my family, teaching, and working with an online gardening consulting community for gardeners, naturalists, foragers and soil builders to provide strategic resources for growing resilience right where we are - starting right in our own communities and backyards!
