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*Not all events are hosted by DAC. Some are hosted by other agencies and their supportive programs*

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Check out the new selection of gardening equipment in DAC’s Device Lending Library!  Just in time for Fall planting.

Potted Plant Mover with 2 Wheels           Item Number 160872

Ergonomic Steel Bulb Auger                        Item Number 161162

Walnut and Pecan Picker Upper                Item Number 160908

Snappy Grip Ergonomic Handles                Item Number 160915

Thermoskins Arthritis Gloves                      Item Number 160877

Ergo Mates Strapping Cushion for Shoes Item Number 161031

Deborah Uhl

AT Coordinator

Disability Action Center

1600 West Street

Redding, CA  96001

(530)242-8550

Lots of outreach being done in our communities. If you wish a presentation of DAC programs and services please let us know. DAC counties include Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, and Tehama. Chico Office (530) 893-8527 and Redding Office (530) 242-8550. Thanks!

CHICO — In an empty field in northwest Chico, Mark Stemen has visions of towering tomatoes, sprawling squash and fabulous flowers sprouting from the ground.

The Oak Way Community Garden, at West Eighth and Nord avenues, has already connected to water, had its soiled tilled and a cover crop planted by volunteers, and is now at the fourth step — fundraising. When completed, the Oak Way project will be the city’s second largest community garden.

“This is an opportunity for us to enable people to come out and grow their own food,” said Stemen, Butte Environmental Council board president, local activist and Chico State University professor whose Geography 498 students have helped lead this project. “This one is really well-planned and it models exactly after the Humboldt garden.”

Cover Crop Watering

“For us, the most important word in community garden isn’t garden,” Stemen said. “The biggest thing here is we are going to grow community.”

A major highlight is the garden will be universally accessible, with easy access to those with disabilities or senior citizens. As part of that goal, BEC has partnered with Independent Living Services of Northern California, which sees community agriculture as a new method for health and independence for people with disabilities.

“For people that are on a fixed income, cheap food is usually the lousy food,” said ILSNC Executive Director Evan LeVang. “This provides a new avenue for people who traditionally don’t have access to affordable, healthy good food as well as the knowledge on how to purchase and prepare it.”

Community gardens also create opportunities to enjoy fresh air, exercise, socialize, improve self-esteem and have access to fresh produce, he said.  “We sit on really good land; there is available water and we are in an agricultural area,” LeVang said. “For our folks we serve to be part of this agricultural economy and movement toward small farming is really exciting … I think we are at the front edge of a coming wave.”

People interested in supporting the Oak Way Community Garden or getting on its wait list can contact BEC at (530) 891-6424 or http://www.becnet.org/oak-way-community-garden

Above material is abridged from an original article in the Chico Enterprise-Record.  It can be viewed at:  http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_24806688/community-garden-chico-grows-fundraising-stage

EARLY DEATH REPLACED BY DISABILITY AS MOST SIGNIFICANT HEALTH RISK

“The health of most of the planet’s population is rapidly coming to resemble that of the United States, where death in childhood is rare, too much food is a bigger problem than too little, and life is long and often darkened by disability.

Delicious

“High blood pressure is now the leading ‘risk factor’ for disease around the world.  Alcohol use is third.  Low-back pain now causes more disability than childbirth complications or anemia.

“We are in transition to a world where disability is the dominant concern as opposed to premature death, said Christopher Murray, who headed the Global Burden of Disease Study, published on [December 13, 2012].

“The pace of change is such that we are ill prepared to deal with what the burden of disease is now in most places.

“The risk of dying prematurely from many ‘adult diseases’ (such as heart attacks and cancer) has also fallen because of better treatment and prevention.  As a result, the average age of the world’s population is getting older.  Soon after 2015, for the first time in history, there will be more people older than 65 than younger than 5.  That has had two consequences.

“More people are surviving to die of diseases that occur only in old age. . . . At the same time, people are living with conditions that don’t kill them, but that do affect their health.

” . . . the study should prompt us to think hard about what are the major causes of disability today, and what are the possible solutions that can accelerate progress against them.”

The independent living movement will be challenged to modify our advocacy to account for these changes.  During the first half of the 20th Century, polio was one of the most dreaded childhood diseases.  A handful of polio survivors were among the first leaders of our movement.  As polio and other infectious diseases are reduced or eliminated, new mostly chronic diseases occupy our attention and healthcare resources.  Going forward, we will be required to expand our scope of practice to include advocacy for the full range of disabled citizens.  In order to maintain our effectiveness, it seems to be incumbent upon us that we play a partnership role in reducing the incidence and severity of these mostly preventable diseases.  

The full newspaper account can be read at:  http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20121217/entlife/712179975

To access the summaries or full studies from The Lancet, go to: http://www.thelancet.com/themed/global-burden-of-disease

Husband and wife agricultural team, Tong Vang and Mai Lor, have done amazing work on ILSNC’s plot at the Bidwell Community Garden in Chico.  Following a successful Spring/Summer crop, they re-planted a Fall/Winter garden specializing in a variety of green vegetables – all grown without chemicals or pesticides.  Mr. Vang also constructed a small greenhouse in which they are growing lemon grass.  They work on the garden two to three times a week.

Tong Vang & Mai Lor

They enjoy the health benefits of outdoor activity as well as having fresh, organic produce available to eat and share.  Both Tong and Mai are members of the Hmong Disability Rights Council and are frequent participants in disability advocacy events and campaigns. ILSNC is proud of what Tong and Mai have accomplished.

As other garden plots become available, we will be expanding with new opportunities for community gardening/agriculture for our consumers in the near future.  To learn more and to volunteer with our Community Garden Project, go to: http://ilsnc.org/services/garden-project/