The garden will be growing without us starting December 22nd, and we will be back on January 7th.
Our sincere wishes that your holidays are full of joy and good eats.
Thank you for all your help in 2024 and we look forward to seeing you all in 2025!
We are a 501(c)(3) charitable and educational nonprofit that has sprouted and taken root in Livermore, California. Our principle teaching garden is located in Livermore on land provided for our use by Asbury United Methodist Church.
To date, Fertile Groundworks has harvested over 200,000 pounds to share with our neighbors in need. Working with local community kitchens and food pantries, we operate year-round to provide a continuous stream of produce to help feed the hungry in the Tri-Valley region.
In 2023, Fertile Groundworks has educated over 1,400 volunteers in the valuable skill of organic gardening. Our volunteers learn sustainable food production techniques such as such as bio-intensive gardening, small-scale organic orchardry, soil fertility, composting and water conservation.
We also provide education and support to local schools, corporations, and other community groups to help them create and sustainably operate their own gardens.
to our neighbors in need in 2023
trained in sustainable food techniques in 2023
to support our Sustainable School Garden program in 2023
for those in need since 2012
Some of our school gardens are branches of the Alameda County Food Bank, so the produce is distributed in the Tri-Valley.
Fertile GroundWorks also shares its produce with Tri-Valley Haven Food Pantry, Interfaith Sharing Food Pantry and St. Vincent de Paul to distribute to their clients.
We provide organic, local produce to Culinary Angels who provide nutrient-rich meals to those going through chemotherapy or a cancer challenge.
Many members of the Asbury UMC community and the greater community have made direct donations us. All of these donations are very gratefully acknowledged.
Sandia National Laboratories‘ Community Involvement program financially supports our efforts to provide Healthy food to all our neighbors in need.
The Alameda County Master Gardener Program works to serve the diverse communities within Alameda County. Master Gardeners are people of all ages from all walks of life who want to give back to their communities. We volunteer our time to help people learn about gardening. Our garden is an approved project for Master Gardeners to earn credit.
Many of the seeds grown by the garden were donated by Renee’s Garden Seeds. Their assistance is gratefully acknowledged. The garden has grown Renee’s varieties of carrot, squash, lettuce, chard, radish, and tomato, and all have performed very well, in many cases exceeding varieties sold by other companies.
Republic Services donated 50 cubic yards of organic compost to the garden, which is being used to amend soil in the beds. This compost will increase the fertility of the soil, allowing for higher-yielding crops and improved soil structure. This compost is also being used as a nutrient-rich layer between hard, untilled soil and wood chips to soften and improve the soil for future cropping.
Springing from the seed of an idea in June 2010, the garden began as a notion to develop unused acreage to serve the hungry in Livermore. A core group of visionary volunteers connected with Open Heart Kitchen, a nonprofit that has served meals at Asbury UMC weekly since 1995. Preparation and planting in the garden began later that year.
Bruce Campbell, an Alameda Master Gardener, was a driving force behind the project, as was fellow Master Gardener Mark Brunell. Together with key volunteers from Asbury, the Master Gardening community and local volunteers, they got Fertile GroundWorks running.
By autumn 2010, the first crops were being harvested and the rotation was up and running. In 2011, we delivered more than 4,000 pounds of organically grown produce to feed the poor and homeless. By 2018, Fertile Groundworks trained over 1,200 volunteers in sustainable food production techniques and harvested over 19,000 pounds of food.
In 2018, lifelong biologist and gardener Brenda Kusler became Executive Director upon Bruce Campbell’s retirement. Under her care, Fertile GroundWorks is continuing to expand its production and outreach within the community.
Angela.Ko@fertilegroundworks.org
I am passionate about educating and inspiring the next generation.
I love witnessing kids actively participate in growing their own food from seed to harvest and seeing the lasting impression it has on them. To fully appreciate where their food comes from is just the beginning. It extends to greater compassion and empowerment to make a change in the face of food insecurity. Embracing a no food waste philosophy, looking out for neighbors to have the same access to a healthy meal… our future is bright if these are the lessons our kids are learning from a young age.
I hope to see more junior gardeners in our future!
Brenda.Kusler@fertilegroundworks.org
As a lifelong biologist and gardener, volunteering with Fertile GroundWorks allows me to pursue the central aspects of my being. I get to play in the soil, watch things grow, and learn new things every day, all while helping my fellow human beings. I truly believe Fertile GroundWorks is one of the most important things I do with my life.
Brooke.Beyer@fertilegroundworks.org
When I first learned about carbon sequestration and the ability to care for our planet by caring for the soil, I immediately began searching for a farm where I could learn more. I was shocked to find a teaching garden just a few blocks from my home!
I began volunteering at Fertile GroundWorks with my toddler in 2016, and within weeks was handed the keys to the abandoned garden at Jackson Avenue Elementary School. It has been a wild ride of learning and growing, community and collaboration ever since! To have such an open, generous community hub in our backyard is truly a gift, and one I’m grateful to be a part of.
Richard.Crawford@fertilegroundworks.org
As a long time and active member of Asbury United Methodist Church, it has brought me so much joy to see Fertile Groundworks become the remarkable ”farm” on what was unused land. I am not much of a farmer, more of an infrastructure guy. If it involves water lines, electricity or buildings, I am ready to help!
With the frightening cost of housing and the grinding economic reality faced by many of our fellow citizens of the Tri-Valley, it is exciting to be part of an organization that is dedicated to providing free, healthy food. I look forward to playing a useful part of this organization.
Jay.Desai@fertilegroundworks.org
Growing up as a child, I was fascinated to see a seed planted in a container produce vegetables for our daily meals. As I continued my passion on a slightly larger scale (raised beds), I realized that I knew so little about horticulture. Until I got introduced to Fertile Groundworks.
I learned a lot about healthy, organic, and sustainable gardening when volunteering at the Garden. The vision of educating individuals and the community on growing food and donating the produce to those in need really resonates with me. I look forward to continuing the vision to educate the community, create more home gardeners, and a healthy community.
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