ANV Is Now the Steward of The West Oakland Farm Park, City Slicker Farms

Photos By Aliya Benudiz. All Rights Reserved.

Acta Non Verba and City Slicker Farms are excited to announce a collaborative, organizational merger! This partnership will expand on years of efforts to bring healthy, accessible, and culturally relevant food to urban communities struggling with systematically created food insecurity. Not only that, but it will also provide a fun new location for Camp ANV and other Youth Programming: The West Oakland Farm Park!

The Acta Non Verba Team are now the proud stewards to a new farm site: The West Oakland Farm Park. 

The West Oakland Urban Farm Park (WOFP) is 1.4 acre working urban farm, educational space, and outdoor recreation site located at 2847 Peralta St. in Oakland, CA. It was created and conceived by and for the 3,000 community members in the surrounding neighborhoods, and intended to be a focal point of community pride and activity for residents of West Oakland. It is a safe space for recreation and connects neighbors over the growing, preparing and sharing of food; promotes environmental conservation, serves as an example of how we can reclaim the ecological integrity of the land; and expand access to healthy foods for low income families in Oakland.

The Farm Park includes a number of features to increase environmental sustainability: drip irrigation, rainwater catchment, recycled and reused construction materials, native plants, organic cultivation methods, habitat for pollinators, growing food locally, environmental education programs, recycling and composting receptacles, a fruit orchard, chicken coop, and even a playground, outdoor classroom, lawn, and children’s garden! There is also an outdoor Demonstration Kitchen, where cooking classes, herbal remedy making, and other workshops are held. 

The site is a lush and productive farm with rows and rows of organic vegetable and fruit beds, as well as a dedicated herb garden where culinary and medicinal herbs are grown for utilization in workshops or for the Town Fridge. 

It is also a host site for The Town Fridge Collective, a group that was started to help support food insecure families in Oakland during the pandemic. The collective actions is rooted in the tradition of mutual aid, which emphasizes people helping people without hierarchy or shame. Mutual aid projects have proliferated in the wake of COVID-19 as the need for community members caring for each other has grown.

At the WOFP, thousands of pounds of food are grown each year in order to increase healthy food access to the community. They are able to stock the fridge with fresh produce we’ve grown, as well as contribute space and electricity for the fridge at the Farm Park. As always, first priority goes to unhoused, low- and fixed-income and BIPOC community members, as well as members of our Garden Program. However, any community members may drop off food and any community members may pick up food. Just outside the farm gates, you can find the 24hr Free Fridge, where neighbors can come pick up free produce that is grown on the farm. In 2021 alone, over 4,000 pounds of produce was grown and distributed for free via the Town Fridge program. 

In addition, the WOFP has a section dedicated to the Community Garden,which consists of 28 irrigated plots. This section was designed with West Oakland residents who do not have a space to grow food in mind. Gardeners can take advantage of the all the supplies and support at the Farm Park, including free soil, starts, trainings and workshops. 

Looking for a spot to host your next birthday, team meeting, family reunion, wedding, retreat or other event? The West Oakland Farm Park is a wonderful outdoor space to host a variety or events and meetings while also supporting food justice in Oakland! Learn more about renting the farm park HERE. 

Acta Non Verba is excited to support the ongoing development of this wonderful urban oasis. We are excited to work with the City Slicker Farms team to create an active and exciting farm space where our youth participants can reconnect with their food and the land with excitement, which in turn, will empower them to make healthier and more sustainable choices in their diet and beyond!

Together, we will continue to serve the Oakland community through a lens of public health, knowing that food accessibility is the first building block to healthy and thriving families. By continuing existing programming as well as developing new ones, this collaboration will maintain the common mission of providing a stable stream of accessible food to populations who need it most, as well as ensuring that safe urban green spaces are accessible to all. 

By combining the collective visions of ANV and CSF, we will create more opportunities for youth development, increase access to urban green space, and raise awareness of the powerful role of urban agriculture in our communities. With our collective resources, we will also be able to maintain long term, sustainable stewardship of the land that the West Oakland Farm Park occupies so that it may continue to serve the residents of West Oakland for years to come.

Learn more about the West Oakland Farm Park HERE!

Photos By Aliya Benudiz. All Rights Reserved.

Meet Camp ANV ONLINE’s Outdoor Adventure Instructor: Clayton Anderson

Naturalist, Clayton Anderson

Clayton has been studying the natural world and natural history most of his life. He dreamed of being a naturalist since he was a boy.

After graduating from college with a BA in drawing and painting, he landed his first job as a naturalist for Lovelife Environmental Education Program.

He has worked for several environmental concerns since, including California State Parks, East Bay Regional Parks District and Alameda Resource Conservation District.

Currently, he is working for the Golden Gate Audubon as a Youth Education Program Manager.

He has worked as a naturalist for a cumulative 10 years. He loves what he does, and is always looking to educate others about the natural world and how it works.

Meet Camp ANV ONLINE’s Dance and Movement Instructor: Joti Singh

Camp ANV ONLINE! Dance and Movement Instructor: Joti Singh

Joti Singh is a dance creator and dance innovator, sprung from the U.S. American south to parents from northern India. She is the Artistic Director of Duniya Dance and Drum Company. Joti began her dance training in Punjabi circles, carrying through her body the culture that’s in her blood and memory. As an adult, West African dance entered Joti’s purview, transforming her body’s culture. Through this multilingual body, Joti explores where history intertwines with contemporary continuities of celebration and injustice. 

Joti and her husband, musician Bongo Sidibe, lead annual trips to Guinea and recently opened the Duniya Center for Arts and Education in Conakry. She teaches all over the SF Bay Area, including Dance Mission Theater and the San Francisco School of the Arts. Joti holds an MA in South Asian Studies from UC Berkeley and a BA in English from Reed College.

Learn more about Camp ANV ONLINE!

Meet Camp ANV ONLINE’s Art Instructor: Jade Leyva

Art Instructor: Jade Leyva!

Magical Realism Artist Jade Leyva is from Mexico City and she now calls New Mexico her home. Her works express her love for nature and her positive hope for the future of the world. She has participated in collective exhibitions at the local, national and international levels, resulting in people from across the globe collecting her work. She has created images for several important events and her work has been featured in many books and publication covers. In 2013 she founded an organization called “Seeds: A Collective Voice” which promotes raising awareness to educate communities about different environmental subjects and solutions, all though collective, multimedia arts. Her Facebook professional page is: https://www.facebook.com/JadeLeyvaArt/.

Meet Camp ANV ONLINE’s Wellness Coach: Kana Azhari (Coach Kay)

Wellness Coach – Kana Azhari!

Kana Azhari (Coach Kay) is a healing artist, organizer and vegan chef.  She loves working with young people and believes in the infinite value, beauty and greatness of their spirit. Coach Kay is constantly finding gratitude in daily meditation, healthy diet, fasting, culture, dance/ movement and relaxation.  She works professionally with clients from around the world to improve their diets, lifestyle choices and self care practices.

Meet Camp ANV ONLINE’s Cooking Instructor: Chef Liesha Barnett!

Cooking Instructor, Chef Liesha!

Chef Liesha grew up in Oakland and began cooking at the age of 9. She joined the Navy when she was 17 years old and traveled the world cooking for thousands of sailors. After leaving the Navy she went on to work in restaurants and hotels before starting her personal chef service. She went on to earn a bachelors degree in nutrition from Arizona State University. She is a master food preserver, and an advocate for culturally relevant representation in health and wellness.

Learn more about Camp ANV ONLINE

Meet Camp ANV ONLINE’s ‘Big Ideas Science’ Instructor: Nicole Carvajal!

Camp ANV ONLINE! Science Instructor: Nicole Carvajal!

Nicole is a third-year medical student in the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program. She grew up in Van Nuys, California where she learned the love and power of community. She loves to visit home to give belly rubs to her dogs, play Just Dance, and visit new food spots with her family.

Nicole graduated from UCR with a degree in Bioengineering. She was involved in pipeline programs for underrepresented students in STEM and these opportunities allowed her to work with students through robotics which she loves!

Currently, she is completing her masters/medical school at the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program. She is motivated to bring health equity to medicine. She has worked on pipeline programs for high school students in the Mission and taught science and medicine to elementary school students in SF.

In her spare time, Nicole loves to dance salsa, make awesome things with clay at her pottery studio, paint, and garden.

Learn more about Camp ANV ONLINE!

ANV’s Statement Regarding Covid-19 | Respecto a Covid-19

Dear Camp ANV and ANV After School Program (ASP) Families, 

I know you have questions and concerns regarding the Corona Virus (COVID-19) and how it might affect our current operations at Acta Non Verba- with our After School Program (ASP) and our upcoming Camp ANV summer sessions. We are following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and American Camp Association (ACA) to assure that we are doing everything possible to support the efforts to slow and stop the spread of this illness. 

Please know that we have reviewed and updated our policies and procedures in connection to our healthcare, on-site cleanliness and support of families who have concerns. 

We are committed to our continued care of all of our staff, students and campers and will continue to monitor the situation closely and follow the advice of our local and national agencies in regard to our response. 

As of now, ANV’s After School Program is suspended until OUSD schools reopen. Camp ANV plans to open as usual on June 8th 2020.

In the meantime, our staff is happy to offer online and by phone homework help, read-aloud storytime and email educational activities and websites to families weekly. That information will be texted directly to Camp  and ASP families.

Oakland Unified School District has set up a number of grab-and-go breakfast and lunch sites. You can find more information and locations HERE

More information on the Coronavirus is available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus. If you have additional questions about the situation please contact our office at 510.838.2267. 

This global situation is changing daily, so please know we will continue to update our community as information becomes available from the CDC and state agencies. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me or any of our staff if we can be of assistance in any reasonable way.

Warmest regards to everyone in our communities; we’ll see you all soon.

Kelly D. Carlisle

Founder/Executive Director

Acta Non Verba: Youth Urban Farm Project

 

Respecto a Covid-19

Estimadas familias del Campamento ANV y ANV Programa de Despues de Escuela (PDE),

Sé que tiene preguntas e inquietudes con respecto al Virus Corona (COVID-19) y cómo podría afectar nuestras operaciones actuales en Acta Non Verba- con nuestro Programa Después de la Escuela (PDE) y nuestras próximas sesiones de verano del Campamento ANV. Estamos siguiendo la guía de los Centros para el Control de Enfermedades (CDC) y la American Camp Association (ACA) para asegurar que estamos haciendo todo lo posible para apoyar los esfuerzos para frenar y detener la propagación de esta enfermedad.

Tenga en cuenta que hemos revisado y actualizado nuestras políticas y procedimientos en relación con nuestra atención médica, la limpieza de las oficinas/salones y el apoyo a las familias que tienen inquietudes.

Estamos comprometidos con nuestra atención continua de todo nuestro personal, estudiantes y campistas y continuaremos monitoreando la situación de cerca y siguiendo los consejos de nuestras agencias locales y nacionales con respecto a nuestra respuesta.

A partir de ahora, el programa de Despues de Escuela de ANV está suspendido hasta que las escuelas de OUSD vuelvan a abrir. Camp ANV planea abrir como de costumbre el 8 de junio de 2020.

Mientras tanto, nuestro personal se complace en ofrecer ayuda en línea y por teléfono para la tarea, lectura de cuentos en voz alta y actividades educativas por correo electrónico y sitios web a las familias semanalmente. Esa información se enviará por mensaje de texto directamente a las familias del campamento y ASP.

El Distrito Escolar Unificado de Oakland ha establecido una serie de sitios para desayunar y almorzar para llevar. Puede encontrar más información y ubicaciones AQUÍ.

Más información sobre el Coronavirus está disponible en https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus. Si tiene preguntas adicionales sobre la situación, comuníquese con nuestra oficina al 510.838.2267.

Esta situación global está cambiando diariamente, así que sepa que continuaremos actualizando nuestra comunidad a medida que los CDC y las agencias estatales dispongan de información.

No dude en comunicarse conmigo o con cualquiera de nuestro personal si podemos ayudarlo de manera razonable.

Un cordial saludo a todos en nuestras comunidades; los veremos a todos pronto!

Kelly D. Carlisle

Founder/Executive Director

Acta Non Verba: Youth Urban Farm Project

1001 83rd Ave. Mailbox #1 Oakland, CA 94621

510-838-CAMP (2267) | 510-972-FARM (3276)

Website: www.anvfarm.org

Email: info@anvfarm.org

Camp ANV Summer 2019 Recap!

From the desk of our Camp Manager, Miss Nataly ortiz: 

During Session One of Camp ANV 2019, campers enjoyed art classes, photography, and were empowered through farming, cooking, and fun & educational field trips! A special thank you to Revolution Foods, who paid us a visit with their Mobile Kitchen showing us more examples of what healthy eating can look like in our community! 

Campers experienced a weekend camping at Lake Del Valle, where they helped with meal prep, cooking, enjoyed boat rides around the lake and ended their nights with an appreciation circle and s’mores.

We’re the Kings & Queens of the WORLD!!

At the end of Session 1, campers showcased their mural project, read an original poem written by our Leaders In Training (LIT’s) called “They Didn’t Know We Were Seeds” along with a dance choreographed by Mr. Byb Chanel from The Congo that ended with families dancing with their children! Can’t forget the delicious food campers made! 

During Session Two, elementary-level campers had so much fun singing and dancing to the sounds of Reggaeton music!

We Should Be DANCIN’ YEAH!!

Reggaeton is influenced by Hip Hop, Latin American and Caribbean music. Campers learned new moves, spanish words, they practiced for their showcase and could not get enough of their dance instructor Ms. Geneva Demmitt . Ms. Geneva started her class with meditation and closed with meditation as well.

In cooking class with Ms. Sanela, campers got to make pizza, burgers, chicken skewers and fresh salads with ingredients they harvested from our garden. In art class campers were introduce to working with pastels, water color, stencil making and spray painting.

Check Out Our Camp Gallery!

Each week, our LIT group watched different documentaries that would talk about the effects of the contaminated water in Flint Michigan, or the poor air quality here in East Oakland.

They would then cut out stencils related to the theme of the week. LIT’s worked at our farm at the Oakland A’s Stadium as well as WOW Farm and harvested fruit to bring back to share with the younger campers. In their Leadership Development Club, LIT’s were able to take the lead in coming up with our breakfast, lunch and dinner menus as well as activities for our Session 2 camping trip.

Along with planning and leading our Last Day of Summer Program “Team Challenge Day”. LIT’s planned and executed this funtastic day for all of Camp ANV! There were 7 stations where campers were challenged to work as a team. At the end campers turned in their Camp Passports to enter a raffle to get a chance to pie a staff!

Getting Pie-d!!

Thank you staff that were willing to be pied! Campers had so much fun and Thank You to the LIT’s for taking  the lead in this event. LIT’s were able to take a tour of 106.1 KMEL and OAKSTOP.

For CO-Op/ East Oakland rising week campers took a trip to OAKSTOP where they met lawyers, engineers, and other professionals that reflect the communities they come from. In the end, they worked with Aya on a grocery store design project.

Campers had a lot of fun camping in the Presidio in San Francisco! Campers and their families did some bird watching, searched for bugs with magnifying glasses, played games, cooked breakfast and dinner and performed funny and scary skits at night during S’mores time at campfire! 

Take a look for yourself at the pictures below!

Many thanks to our funders, partners and sponsors! Together, we create more smiles in East Oakland!

The Oakland Athletics is a “Grow Your Imagination” Garden Delight Sponsor!