Nurture Nature Center Kicks Off Urban Garden Project

By Christina Georgiou


Donors for the Nurture Nature Center's Urban Recycle Garden gathered

for a celebration party at the Downtown center Thursday night.



Nurture Nature Center topped its Kickstarter goal only a week ago, but the organization is already working towards making its Urban Recycle Garden a reality.

Inviting the 107 donors who gave a total of $9,500 toward the project, along with a number of other donors who contributed approximately $1,500 more, to a celebration party Thursday evening at its Downtown Northampton Street educational center, NNC director Rachel Hogan and master gardener Kate Brandes said the garden will be a reality this summer.

And, with $3,000 more than NNC's original goal of $8,000, along with an offer from local engineer Rich Herschlag to do a formal structural analysis of the building's back roof to ensure it's strong enough to bear the weight of it, the project will not only encompass the small back parking lot of NNC, but extend up along the wall and over it to the roof itself.

A mock-up of what the new garden will look like behind Nurture Nature
Center, from Pine Street. The green space will extend up and over the roof too.
Contributed photo.

The wall that leads to the roof will be resurfaced by Rob Wozniak of Preservation Works, NNC's next door neighbor, who also offered to donate his services, Brandes said.

Giving a tour to some of the donors during Thursday evening's celebration party, Brandes described the project in detail.

The current parking lot against the back wall of the building will be transformed, she said, with a fence and gate, along with raised garden beds. A trellis will be added along the building's back wall, and an existing one near a back entrance to the building will finally get use.


Nurture Nature Center master gardener Kate Brandes
describes what the new garden will look like to donors on a
tour of the space Thursday evening.

"A lot of it will be a container garden," Brandes said. "The garden is meant to demonstrate how people can grow things in very small spaces, even fire escapes."

She added the center is looking for both input on the types and styles of containers to be used, as well as donations of various types of containers themselves.

"We can use anything--old garbage cans, pots, whatever," Brandes told guests, noting NNC has a wish list of items to be donated on its website.

While the project will bloom this summer, completing the roof garden may take a little longer, though the center plans to begin work on it immediately.

"What the roof will exactly look like, we're not sure yet," she said. "The engineer coming to us was a bit of a surprise."

The ground level garden will feature all sorts of plants, with an emphasis on those that are edible.

"We want to do themed gardens, like a salsa garden," Brandes said.

The instructional and inspirational nature of the project will be highlighted too, for both in-person and on-line visitors.

"Everything we do...we're going to have instruction worksheets," she said. The sheets will be available as handouts to those who visit NNC, and as downloadable copies via the web.

An automated watering system that will make use of runoff from the center's expansive roof  will ensure plants are optimally watered at all times, "so that when we're not here on the weekends, things will still get watered."

The garden's produce will flow with the seasons, and the center hopes to keep it running year-round, as the weather allows. Hardier plants, such as kale and maybe some herbs, will be cultivated in the colder months, she said.

A garden board has already been appointed to oversee the project, and it will convene for a meeting next week. Members, all chosen from the local community are:

• Lynn Prior Director of Greater Lehigh Valley Chapter of Buy Fresh Buy Local
• Emelie Swackhamer, Horticulture Educator, Lehigh & Northampton Co. Cooperative
• Barbara Hinkson, owner of Compost (an urban garden center located in Easton)
• Joe Judge, Master Gardener and Bushkill Stream Conservancy representative
• Sarah Edmonds, Garden Manager and Metzgar Environmental Projects Coordinator at Lafayette College
• Kristin Jasionowski, Owner, Lunaria Gardens, a Permaculture consultation, design, & education service
• Pat Janssen, Easton Environmental Advisory Council
• Sophia Feller, West Ward Community Gardens

One of the board's first tasks will be to discuss what will be done with produce from the new garden. Suggestions include donating it to local food pantries and/or using it for further instructional opportunities, such as holding canning workshops.

Plans for the garden's first full season next year, are already forming too.

"We are in touch with a beekeeper about putting a hive on the roof next year," Brandes said.

About 90 of the donors were on hand for the party celebrating the garden fundraiser's success Thursday evening.

In addition to enjoying refreshments donated by local restaurants and shops, including Two Rivers Brewing Company, the Philadelphia Pretzel Company, Sweet Girlz, Weyerbacher and the soon-to-open coffee shop Briva, the Easton School of Rock's Bank Street Band filled the air with some blistering rock-and-roll tunes.

Guests were treated to packets of organic seeds to help green their own gardens, and were invited to offer suggestions for the space, as well as vote on a number of container gardening ideas that will be utilized in NNC's new space.



A raffle for a Trek bicycle donated by
Genesis Bicycles was won by local artist
and Urban Recycle Garden donor Patricia Delluva.



A raffle for a Trek bicycle donated by Genesis Bicycles was won by local artist and Urban Recycle Garden donor Patricia Delluva, whose work is part of one of NNC's current painting exhibits.

"With your help, we've successfully funded this project and are already working on first steps to get the garden built," NNC Director Rachel Hogan Carr told guests.  "We're really grateful for the community support. Thank you."

To learn more about Nurture Nature Center's Urban Recycle Garden, click here.

Nurture Nature Launches Fundraising Campaign for Urban Garden Project

By Christina Georgiou


Rachel Hogan talks about Nurture Nature Center's plan for
an "Urban Recycle Garden" Friday evening.



It's been part of the Nurture Nature Center's (NNC) plan from the beginning to incorporate urban gardening and an educational program to go with it into their facility on Northampton Street, and now after five years of operation, it may finally happen.

The Center launched with a Kickstarter campaign party Friday evening, attended by nearly 100 people, to highlight its plan to create an "Urban Recycle Garden", which requires $8,000 to become a reality.

"We're really excited about this program," said Rachel Hogan, NNC's director. "We have a really beautiful vision of how we can use that area and demonstrate how people can grow their own food."


Works by Pat Delluva, Jody Matthews, Sydney McGinley,
Patti Tinsman-Schaffer, Kay Stauffer, and Todd Stone,
Nurture Nature Center's latest art exhibit, were on display
during the fundraising campaign launch. Additionally,
"Riverview" by Easton artist Isadore LaDuca, which
he donated to the center, was also on view.

 The initial phase of the garden will be at ground level just off of Pine Street behind the NNC building. The majority of the cost will go towards building a system to collect rainwater from the roof of the center, which will also be useful towards mitigating stormwater runoff. Other costs include building a trellis along the center's back wall to grow vegetables and vines, basic supplies such as soil, and to create handouts and other educational materials about the garden so visitors will be able to recreate some of the ideas.

"One of the things we're going to do is leverage it as an educational tool," Hogan said. "We want to demonstrate things people can do at their own homes."

The majority of the garden's containers will be recycled, and the emphasis will be on practical gardening, said NNC's Kate Brandes, who is a licensed professional geologist, certified floodplain manager, and a Penn State Master Gardener.

"I think the bottom line for me is this is a project for regular people. It's different from a community garden or a green roof," she said.

Kate Brandes looks out over the roof and area behind
Nurture Nature Center, which the organization hopes to
transform into a blooming garden this summer.

If the Kickstarter campaign exceeds the $8,000 goal, Nurture Nature plans to apply the money to continuing the green space, creating a rooftop garden just above the back wall of the building.

That part of the project has also been in the works from the beginning, Brandes said, but is more costly.

Needed are a structural certification from a licensed engineer stating the roof can hold the weight of the garden, as well as modifications to the fire escape balcony to make it safer for visitors. Additionally, the center would like to replace the heavy fire doors that lead to the fire escape with paned-glass ones so the garden will be visible from the  third floor "Science on a Sphere" room above.

Friday evening, a number of people were seen donating toward the project, some through the Kickstarter campaign, and others writing checks directly. By the end of the evening, $2,500 had been garnered for the project, in addition to NNC's Kickstarter campaign.

The online effort runs through Saturday, May 25 at 10 p.m. and had garnered $440 in pledges from 11 backers as of late Friday night. By mid-Saturday afternoon, the amount had grown to $765.

If Nurture Nature Center reaches it's goal, the garden project will be implemented immediately and yield its first crops this summer, Brandes said.

Additionally, the center is planning a campaign closing party for the backers on Thursday, May 30.

Brandes said she's very much looking forward to making the garden a reality.

"We've been waiting to do this for five years," she said.

To contribute to the Nurture Nature Center's Urban Recycle Garden or view more details about the planned project, click here to visit their page on Kickstarter.

For more about Nurture Nature Center and its mission, visit the organization's website.

Updated at 1:57 p.m.

Two Rivers Brewing Company Close to Opening

By Christina Georgiou


Cleaning the newly grouted
bathroom tiles.



Kathy Reynard, along with Judy and
Brad Nelson prep for painting.



After successfully meeting its Kickstarter campaign goal and bringing in a total of $21,764 from 144 backers to pay for a new tap system for the bar at the end of last month, Two Rivers Brewing Company is edging ever closer to opening day.

Co-owners Troy Reynard, Kathy Reynard, Judy Nelson and Brad Nelson were joined Sunday at their soon-to-open restaurant and brew pub in the former Mount Vernon Alehouse on the corner of Northampton and Sixth streets with other staff members and about 10 volunteers for an intensive day of painting and other construction-related finishing tasks.

.

While an actual opening date hasn't been firmed up, Troy Reynard said Sunday that the City of Easton has granted all the permits the new pub needs to open on the first floor, and that all that remains is for some small details on that level to be completed and for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to give its final approval on the establishment's liquor license. 

He estimated it will be another couple of weeks, but said it will definitely be before Christmas.

Work on the second floor dining rooms is proceding well, with drywall installed. It's next on the list for completion, but that will come after the brew pub open, Troy Reynard said.

The kitchen is nearly ready to go, with only some lighting and drop ceiling tiles left to be installed.

"We're nearly there," said Judy Nelson. "I can't believe it. It's been a long road. I can't wait."

Two Rivers Brewing Company Kickstarter Campaign Edges Towards Goal

By Christina Georgiou

With 8 days to go, the Two Rivers Brewing Company Kickstarter campaign to pay for a new tap system for the historic pub is at nearly $12,000.

The total cost to replace the antiquated system in the former Mount Vernon Alehouse is $20,000, a number that needs to be reached if the new tap system is to be funded.

So far, 76 backers have pledged to the campaign, which requires a minimum pledge of $1, though the vast majority have promised more than that. Six people have pledged $1,000 or more, which entitles them to a custom tasting dinner for them and their friends with the chef and brewer, plus a variety of Two Rivers Brewing swag and a public acknowledgement of their contribution.

Co-owner Troy Reynard, who also owns the Cosmic Cup coffee house on College Hill, said the campaign was started not only to raise money after the building renovation project hit a number of unexpected construction costs, but also to expand on the number of people involved.

The Two Rivers Brewing Company Founders Club, funds from which are being used to purchase the on-site brewing equipment, offers donors $1,250 worth of beer over three years for a $1,000 investment.

But that's pricey for many, Reynard noted, so the Kickstarter campaign for the tap system offers various pledge levels, along with various amounts of thank you  swag and gifts, so more people are able to participate.

"It's not only people we know, but people we don't know who really believe in what we're doing.  Also, I've had old friends and former employees who've pledged, and it's gratifying to renew those connections," Reynard said. "It goes to one of the main reasons I wanted to do a Kickstarter campaign.  In addition to raising the extra funds we need, it also gets more people involved with our project, and creates a community dedicated to the renovation of this historic building."

The new system will run from tanks in the brewing area on the second and third floors in the back of the building to ten taps in the bar area on the ground floor in the front. The modern lines will also keep the beer, brewed on the premises, chilled to optimum temperature during it's journey.

Some of the signature beers have already been developed by by brewmaster Wayne Milford, a former head brewer for Dogfish Head in Delaware, known for its award-winning beers.


A pint of Two Rivers Brewing Company's
latest creation, an Oktoberfest beer.
(Contributed photo)

 Two Rivers offerings are locally-inspired craft brews, with names like "Pine St. Blonde," "Getter's Island PA" and "Bankers Brown Ale" and have been well-received during preview tasting events in the past few months.

The new brewery also plans to go back to Easton's brewing roots as they get established, Reynard said. To that effect, the company has also been collecting memoribilia and artifacts from former Easton beer companies, including the recipes for beers of old like the former Seitz Brewery which was located at Bushkill and Front streets, which they plan to recreate in limited quantities from time to time.


The eastern wall of the former Mount
Vernon Alehouse was reinforced late
this summer to support an elevator
and the weight of the brewing
equipment on the second
and third floors.



 While getting the former Mount Vernon Alehouse ready to house Two Rivers Brewing Company has been a months-long project that has included some delays from the originally scheduled August grand opening, and has also been more expensive than anticipated, Reynard says all the work is worth the effort to restore an Easton landmark that has been vacant for nearly a decade.

"The process has been very gratifying," Reynard said.

With most of the building work now complete, and a new tap system possibly on the way, Two Rivers is looking to open its doors to the public by mid-November.

To donate to the Two Rivers Brewing Company Kickstarter campaign, click here.

To check on the progress of the new brew pub or to learn more about joining the Two Rivers Brewing Company Founders' Club, visit www.facebook.com/tworiversbrewing