NEWS & VIEWS

Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church

On May 4th, UCAN had the privilege of presenting to Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church. During this virtual presentation we met their staff and share the story of Urban Community AgriNomics. Check out our presentation to dive into our origins, what we’ve done and our plans for the future! 
 
Click here to view our presentation.

Voyage Raleigh Interview

Urban Community AgriNomics (UCAN) had the privilege of being interviewed by Voyage Raleigh, an online magazine. It was a wonderful opportunity to be able to share our story!
 
Read our full interview here!
 

2021 Food Distributions

A huge thank you to Farmer Foodshare and Mount Level Missionary Church for partnering with us in the food distributions! We were able to provide fresh and free NC grown produce to 1,150 community members during our 2021 food distributions! We are especially thankful for funding from Durham Congregation In Action (DCIA) for assisting us in bringing this much needed resource to the community. 
 

It couldn’t have been done without our fantastic team and volunteers. We are grateful to be able to serve the community and provide for those in need or those who may need a little help, especially during the holiday season.

Walk the Land Tour

December 4th, 2021 was absolutely amazing! Our hearts were full seeing everyone who came out to our Walk the Land Tour. Thank you to everyone who joined us as we celebrated the land’s rich history and honored our ancestors. We came together as a community and enjoyed a live performance from African drummers (Thomasi and Johnny Roots), built birdhouses with New Hope Audubon Society and came together to build relationships and grow in our knowledge.
We are beyond thankful for the support, donations and for everyone taking the time to join us!

Collecting Plastic Caps.

What could be easier than collecting plastic caps and lids? We’ve partnered with Green Tree Plastics as a way to keep items out of the landfill AND create a beautiful bench for the farm. Help us by saving those bottle tops, plastic container and medicine bottle lids, laundry detergent and even toothbrush caps. There’s a collection bucket at the farm. Please make sure they’re clean before turning them in. This image shows the acceptable plastics we’re collecting.

Ask your coworkers, church and friends to help us with this project!

We have joined Amazon Smile! Now you can support UCAN at the Catawba Trail Farm every time you shop through/with Amazon.  Each time you use our link when shopping Amazon will donate .05% of your purchase to UCAN. There is no change in your shopping experience, prices, etc. This just a way for Amazon to support nonprofits. Thanks Amazon and thanks to each of you for your support! 

Healing on the Land at Historic Stagville

“Healing on the Land is back at Stagville! Delphine Sellars and Diquan Edmonds join Site Manager Vera Cecelski for this episode. Each speaker represents an organization that keeps and cares for land that was formerly part of the Cameron plantations: Historic Stagville State Historic Site, Urban Community AgriNomics and Triangle Land Conservancy ’s Horton Grove Nature Preserve. They share the different ways each of them seek to transform plantation land into spaces for healing, through land conservation, community agriculture, and public history.”

Chickens have arrived!

UCAN has chickens at the Catawba Trail Farm! We are beyond thrilled! Thank you Tina of the Efland Ladies Club for the delivery and bringing our beautiful chickens to us safely. Now that they are here, we will have more opportunities for the team and community, such as:
 
– Access to fresh eggs!
– Educational opportunities on caring for chickens, their role in pest control, how they help the soil, and more!

UCAN Youtube Channel

One of our goals with Urban Community AgriNomics (UCAN), is to use our knowledge and experience to educate the community and those we have to opportunity to connect with. We are so thankful to our team and volunteers who share their wealth of knowledge in agriculture and farming.

When given opportunity, we work on video projects to have these moments accessible to all! Check out our Youtube Channel and to  learn more about the agricultural field and our organization! We’d love for you to subscribe, that way you’ll know when we upload new projects! 

Urban Community AgriNomics
2021 Partnerships!

This year has been fantastic for UCAN at the Catawba Trail Farm! We have been able to partner with wonderful individuals, organizations and schools. 

  • DCLT, SEEDS, AND ECWA
  • Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties
  • Murphy’s Naturals
  • Duke OBGYN
  • Southwest Elementary School
  • New Hope Audubon Society
  • Durham Alumni Aggies

UCAN'S First Annual Cookout

The community we have been able to build at Catawba Trail Farm is absolutely beautiful. We have been able to connect with a diverse group of people to learn, grow, and give back. We took a break from our usual workday this weekend to show our team how much they mean to us. It is always important to show those who support you how much you value their time and dedication. With 2020 being such a tough year, we really wanted to spread more joy and love. UCAN’s First Annual Cookout was a way to come together to show how much we treasure and appreciate our team! We hope you all take this thanksgiving season to show your loved ones much love – we can all use more moments of happiness and peace! 😉

Urban Community AgriNomics
at First Fruits Farm

On Saturday, October 24h, some of the UCAN team members had the opportunity to go to First Fruits Farm for their sweet potato harvesting!

 

Jason Brown, the founder/owner of First Fruits Farm, is an inspirational and admirable man. What he and his family od for the community with their farm is absolutely amazing!

We are so grateful to have been able to pick up over 200lbs of sweet potatoes! UCAN and Mr.Evans will use that produce to support and give back to the Durham community.

A special thank you to First Fruits Farm and The Society of St.Andrew!

Monarch Caterpillars at the Catawba Trail Farm

Monarch Caterpillars! We found some in a garden bed with parsley! We can’t wait to see the beautiful butterflies fluttering around at the Catawba Trail Farm!

𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦!

🐛 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘸𝘣𝘢 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘮? 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥.⁣

🐛 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯, 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘭𝘵𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯. ⁣

🐛 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘱𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴.⁣

🦋 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘭𝘺.⁣
𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦.⁣

✏️ 𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴? 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 @museumoflifeandscience 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘶𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘕𝘊 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘭𝘺 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘸𝘣𝘢 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘮.

Food Distribution | July 2020

UCAN was honored to partner with Farmer FoodShare on Wednesday, July 1, 2020 to provide FREE fresh vegetables to the community. The turnout was a huge success; more than 60 cars! It was such a blessing to see how many families were positively impacted with being able to pickup fresh vegetables to provide for their households, neighbors, and friends! We were able to share with Jeanette Hicks, who is a resident at The Timber Springs Apartments Senior Community, in Garner NC. They received sweet potatoes, white potatoes, lettuce, and bok chow. They were really excited to receive these fresh vegetables and are looking forward to coming out to the Catawba Trail Farm very soon. A special thank you to everyone who helped up distribute and to Farmer FoodShare, Society of Saint Andrews, and Mt. Level Missionary Baptist Church Two Fish Five Loaves Food Pantry!

Our Executive Director, Delphine Sellars, was spotlighted by OMD4theplanet on Juneteenth!

 

Today on #Juneteenth, we are shining a spotlight on leaders in the agricultural movement around the US, who are working to promote food justice; provide access to healthy, plant-based foods; support better environmental stewardship, and improve community health from the ground up. Visit hellajuneteenth.com to learn more about this important holiday.

1️⃣ Leah Penniman, author, educator and cofounder of @soulfirefarm:
Leah’s vision isn’t just to offer a working farm and training ground for aspiring sustainable farmers of color, but also to create a new food culture through activism and healing. “There are a lot of tears,” Penniman says. “As my friend says, ‘the land was the scene of the crime.’ It’s where slavery and sharecropping and all the oppression took place, but I would add that she [the land] was never the criminal. In fact, the land was probably the reason we survived.”
2️⃣ Ron Finley, founder of @RonFinleyProject
Noted as ‘The Gangsta Gardener’, Ron started his journey in South Los Angeles by planting a garden on the neglected curbside parkway outside his home. He simply wanted to grow a carrot without toxic pesticides. The city fought him, but Ron fought back – and won. This marked the beginning of The Ron Finley Project – where his goal is to build an urban garden in his community to serve as an example of a well-balanced, fruit-and-veggie oasis.
3️⃣ Delphine Sellars, co-founder, @urbancommunityagrinomics
Urban Community AgriNomics is a nonprofit focused on integrating agriculture into the health and well-being of urban communities. Based in Durham, UCAN has been restoring an estate that was once part of North Carolina’s plantation system, transforming it into a community garden.

Beehive Installation!

If you hear buzzing around Catawba Trail Farm or see people in strange outfits, do not panic! Thanks to our plot owners/beekeepers extraordinaire; Amanda and Mel, and Cheralyn Berry (the magnificent agent of Durham Extension Family and Consumer Sciences, Local Foods Coordinator), we now have bees!

From arrival to move in day, the bees have a new home where they will be loved and cared for while helping our garden to thrive! 

Wow! We now have tow hives! There was a beautiful swarm at Briggs Avenue Community Garden on Friday (4/15/20), and wonderful, Ms.Berry, caught and delivered them to us. 

This is fantastically wonderful news for us!

Happy Earth Day!

April 22nd, 2020

Celebrate Earth Day with us today by enjoying these UCAN Earth Day themed activities. Share your wordsearch and coloring sheet with us once completed! Also, for all of us to stay connected this year, share a video or picture of your Earth Day activities and join us on April 25th as we continue the celebration at Catawba Trail Farm by taking care of our environment!

Viola Talents by Joshua Forbes!

March 28th, 2020 

UCAN’s Secretary, Stephanie Forbe’s son, Joshua, took a short break from his volunteer work with us and blessed us with his musical talents this morning on our workday! With beautiful spring weather and great volunteers out at the farm, we had a wonderful Saturday morning!

 

Planting Mushrooms!

March 14th, 2020 

Delphine Sellars, Executive Director, taught volunteers and board members how to plant mushrooms out at the Catawba Trail Farm during our workday!

 

MLK Day of Service 2020

We had our amazing team and group of volunteers join us on the MLK Day of Service out at the Catawba Trail Farm.  A wonderful day with wonderful people as we reflected on Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and impact.

AmeriCorps at the Catawba Trail Farm!

It is extremely hard to find the words to express our appreciation to Conservation Corps North Carolina and their AmeriCorps conservation crews for the work they are doing at the Catawba Trail Farm. Among the things this wonderful group of young people will be doing are: installing a fence around our in-ground planting area for protection from deer, building our chicken coop and building a deck and handicapped ramp on the Intergenerational House (formerly known as the corn crib). Their service will have a tremendous impact on our ability to provide services to Durham residents. Just having a safe usable infrastructure allows us to focus more attention on education, training and engagement.

https://www.conservationfund.org

https://www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps

 

 

Capsulizing UCAN's Journey at the 2019 National Land Conservation Conference

Urban Community AgriNomics had the opportunity to present at the 2019 National Land Conference in Raleigh, NC on October 19th. Such a great way to share, connect and learn! 


Check out our presentation here: PRESENTATION

Canning Classes

July 2019 – Co-founders, Delphine Sellars and Lucille Patterson, hosted and taught canning classes at SEEDS in Durham, NC. For both classes they had great support from attendees who learned the canning process, engaged in raffle giveaways and fun with the UCAN team!

http://www.seedsnc.org

Catawba Trail Farm Vision Plan

April 2019 – Executive Director, Delphine Sellars, receives UCAN’s Vision Plan that is being designed by Dr. Kofi Boone, ASLA, Department of Landscape Architecture at NC State University. 

PDF

A Day With Youth From 'Partners for Youth Opportunity' and 'Durham 4-H'

On March 27th, 2019 the UCAN Farm had a day with these two amazing organizations. The youth worked on the garden with both Delphine and Lucille, and explored UCAN’s trail.

Partnership with The Forest at Duke​

“Special thanks to volunteers at The Forest at Duke for collecting, flattening and donating a car full of plastic bags for this project! We are so pleased to have the opportunity to partner with them for this project. This photo shows ILI Fellows, Delphine Sellars and Pat Fennell receiving the bags from Ann Huessener the Captain of The Forest at Duke Green Team. We look forward to partnering with them again!”

– Corporation for National & Community Service

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