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10.27.11

Building Your Core With OFG Professional Training

Everyone needs to build their core muscles for good posture and getting up on the surfboard easily. Building your understanding of the fundamentals of Ocean Friendly Gardening (OFG) and easily communicating them was the focus of the Core Concepts Workshop.

The Workshop attracted representatives from government agencies, landscape pros (designers, contractors, architects, retailers), non-profits and academia interested in grasping the fundamental calculations and communication techniques for sustainable landscaping. Many of them had also attended either or both the OFG Watershed Basics Class and Hands-On Workshop (HOW) on Site Evaluation, lead by G3/The Green Gardens Group.

With overcast weather all day, Core Concepts Workshop attendees focused on the substantive material in the Workshop workbook. The Workshop utilized a nice mix of listening, small group exercises and large group dialog. The majority of attendees took advantage of the generous Workshop scholarship. Surfrider asked that paying forward the scholarship include:

  • Helping to prepare the coming Garden Assistance Program (GAP) Workday site - the site is the Spencer Adams Park, the same place we evaluated at the HOW on Site Evaluation. Prep will include finishing off the turf grass removal and soil health building through sheet mulching.
  • Leading a Lawn Patrol/neighborhood walk - to educate people in how CPR - Conservation, Permeability and Retention - were applied to the site. Then lead the group through the neighborhood to develop attendees' eye for opportunities and build their confidence that they can apply it at their homes, worksites or public spaces. We'll ask that walk leaders arrive a little early to remove any weeds.

The next steps in the series is for G3 to submit a design to the City to retrofit the Spencer Adams Park site (by mid-November). We will then set a date to prep the site and return for the Workday and walk.

G3 developed and lead the Workshop and is a partner in the OFG Program. The Workshop was the third part of the Santa Barbara OFG Series sponsored by the California Coastal Commission through their Whale Tail License Plate grant program.