Blog#8 A Budget is Statement of Values

A Budget is Statement of Values

My community partner has a budget in its own. Founded by Ms. Christine Pielenz and Mr. Bill who own the land. The Farm provides charity to the citizens of Half Moon Bay which depends heavily on volunteers. The farm Potrero Nuevo Farm is a non-profit organization which helps deliver fresh organic produce to homeless shelters and other charitable organizations. Also, Potrero Nuevo Farm donates the use of its land, harvest support, use of farm equipment and other materials to the Catholic Workers and that in turn feeds the low-income and homeless. In that way, they fulfill the hallmark number six ‘‘We create community among those with whom we work and with those we serve’’ and also hallmark number two ‘‘We commit ourselves to community service.’’ They also gain money from a program called U-Pick where people can harvest their own vegetables, berries, herbs, and flowers. Also, they have a coffeeshop-like shop called The Bike Hut, run by farm managers Jay and Suzie Trexler, The Bike Hut is a place where cyclists can enjoy fresh water, teas, and some snacks and they have the choice to pay what they want in return for this kind of service. It is self-serve and open 24/7/365 for the enjoyment of Half Moon Bay bikers.

CTA Day Reflection

Black Lives Matter

Call To Action Day

“We honor the dignity and sacredness of each person” (Hallmark Two). After what we heard about the brutality of police officers to the African-American community, Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement founded by three brave women, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi. The movement first started in 2013, when Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old student, brutally got shot by a police officer in Florida. BLM movement was first started on the social network website Twitter by the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter.

I heard the whole keynote that was presented by Bobby Vaughn. Actually, his last words moved me “All lives matter, black lives matter, LGBTQ lives matter, Muslims lives matter.” It made me realize that it is not only my life or my family’s lives but also every human being. His words also follow one of the Catholic Church teaching’s themes, “The dignity of every person and human rights.” In fact, We need to be treated equally by the government, whoever has authority or even among each other. We also have discrimination problems in Saudi Arabia. I think it is a universal problem.

Group discussion is a really perfect idea for people to share what they think about in order to be better as a community. It also fulfills one of the hallmarks that was written by the Notre Dame De Namur sisters “We embrace the gift of diversity.” In my group discussion, I was able to talk with people who have different points of view about the Black Lives Matter movement and discriminations in general. I know that could sound normal to you, but to me it was not. Any problem related to politics is illegal to discuss it in Saudi Arabia. The government tries to control what people say or think.

Blog#7 - Potrero Nuevo Farm Role in The Local Government

The Potrero Nuevo Farm

Potrero Nuevo Farm is a nonprofit organization protected by the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST). An organization that was built to preserve natural resources from getting polluted. It provides clean air and water, locally grown food, and a place for people and wildlife to thrive.

Potrero Nuevo Farm has a lot of impact on the local community. They help minimize the amount of homeless and poor people by providing food for free. The farm helps other charities in an indirect way by producing fresh organic fruits and vegetables and deliver them to homeless shelters and places that serve food for the poor and families in need. Also, the farm helps sustain the Bay Area natural habitat and keep it healthy and livable for us and our future generations. Moreover, Potrero Nuevo Farm provides educational programs to help children learn how to cultivate different kinds of produce. And that also is helping the local government to achieve one of the hallmarks that was written by the Notre Dame Sisters " We Educate For And Act On Behalf Of Justice And Peace In The World."

Blog#6 - Focus question on State Legislatures

State Legislatures

Focus question: what are the three principals functions of legislatures?

Well, the three principals functions of legislatures are:-

1- Policymaker:

Which includes enacting laws and allocating funds. Legislatures alone do not have control of the state policymaking. but they are the dominant policymaking institutions in state government.

2- Representation:

Legislatures are expected to speak for their people in the legislative chamber and also they act as their constituents’ facilitators in the state government.

3- Oversight:

Concerned that the law they passed in addition to the funds they allocated frequently did not produce the intended effect. Their role takes legislatures into the administrative realm.

C.E. - Day 3

Potrero Nuevo Farm

Day 3

February 26, 2016, was our third day volunteering at the farm. My team and I arrived at 12:45 pm and met Suzie. We helped clean another small area in the farm of weeds and dead plants so we can plant some other types of plants. Then, Suzie, the farm’s manager, taught us how we transplant most kinds of plants. Four healthy rhubarb plants were transplanted by the team. After that, we tried some fresh organic produce such as carrot that we picked it up ourselves. Finally, we helped the farm sow six different kinds of onion in raised beds. I sowed Walla Walla onion seeds in one bed and then placed it in the greenhouse. 

  The pictures below summarize what we did the third day:

Cleaning another small field in the farm.

Renita digging around the rhubarb plant in order to transplant it.

A picture of a rhubarb plant with its metal pot

Suzie teaches us a little bit about onions before we plant them 

Me sowing Walla Walla onion seeds in the wood raised bed.

The raised beds next to each other in the greenhouse.

C.E. - Day 2

Potrero Nuevo Farm

Day 2

On February 19, 2016, my team and I arrived at the farm around 12:45 pm. We met Suzie and Jay as usual and they taught us a little bit about the U-Pick program that they provide in the summer. They also made us sign a form that explained the rules and policies for training at Potrero Nuevo Farm (See the pictures below). After that, they showed us an area where they plant herbs and we did clean that area from unwanted plants that can affect the herbs feeding process.

The pictures below best describe and summarize what we did on the second day.

A picture of our team with the managers of the farm around the herbs field.

A picture of Renita working on removing unwanted plants from the field.

A picture from the other field where we spent a lot of time removing big unwanted plants from the field.

A picture of me removing a big unwanted plant from the field.

C.E. - Day 1

Potrero Nuevo Farm

Day 1

Eight miles south of Half Moon Bay is the Potrero Nuevo Farm. It’s a 300-acre private farm that is perfect to grow healthy organic produce. Without spraying chemicals, The farm benefits from breeding different kinds of cattle such as cows, to fertilize the land.

My team and I arrive at 12:30 pm every Friday at the farm. The farm managers Susie and Jay start to welcome us into the farm. We have different assignments each Friday. The first day, Susie and Jay divided us into two groups. The first group helped remove weeds and unwanted plants from the field while the other group helped spray strawberry’s plants with tea in order to protect it from harmful insects. Lastly, Susie taught us how to plant small plants the right way. It is no just digging and putting plants in the hole, it is more like knowing the soil and choosing the perfect place to plant them. For three hours, we spent the time talking and discussing farm’s work.

The pictures below summarize what we did the first day:

A picture of my team before we started working.

A picture of the first group removing unwanted plants from the field.

A picture Of me walking around the field and spraying tea all over strawberry plants

My team helped Susie plants more small plants around the field.