Groups Winterize Community Farm, Promote Climate Change Awareness

Needham residents took part in their own piece of the Global Work Party last week and, in the process, helped make the town a little bit greener.

In coordination with 350.org, volunteers from the Needham Community Farm, Green Needham Collaborative and the First Parish Church met at the Newman Elementary School on Oct. 7 to close the school's gardens and raise awareness about global warming. The result, according to Debbie Schmill, president of the Needham Community Farm, was a "lasagna garden."

In order to winterize the garden, volunteers worked in layers, much like constructing a lasagna. They started by harvesting remaining plants and then creating a layer of leaves and other leftover plants, including apples donated by Volante Farms. The second layer is comprised of old newspapers, followed by a final layer of straw.

Schmill related that the layers will break down over the winter before turning into nutrient rich soil for next year's garden. Furthermore, without the winter off-season, farms would become overrun with pests and disease, and invasive weeds would never die off. Climate change, the groups warn, threatens the winter season by increasing average temperatures.

For more information about the project, visit either Green Needham Collaborative or the Needham Community Farm website.