What's been challenging you about your Sharing Backyards program? What have you tried? Anyone have a solution or suggestion for those being challenged?
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We have had great media takeup (two articles with photos).
We have had some interesting challenges so far.
(1) We have offers of land, but no takers.
(2) We have had an offer by a tennant without the permission of the landlord.
Our solution to no. 2 is a sample agreement form, which I will attach and/or copy below.
Sharing Backyards Agreement
Property Owner
I _______________________ hereby verify that I own and am entitled to administer the property located at _____________________________.
My property will be accessible from these times on the following days:
Day
Time Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun
Morning:
Afternoon:
Evening:
I have the following tools to share:
I have the following storage facilities for use:
The property has access to water (circle one): YES NO
If YES the procedure for watering is as follows:
I have the following restrictions on who/what is allowed on my property:
Name:_________________________________________________
Name:_________________________________________________
Name:_________________________________________________
Some special restrictions are:
In return for the use of my property I expect:
Property User
I, _____________________ agree to the above terms and conditions and will adhere to them until such time as I submit in writing that I wish to exit this agreement.
WAIVER AND INDEMNITY CLAUSE
The User accepts and will use the premises at their own risk and agrees that neither the Owner, nor the CEED Centre have made any warranties or representations respecting the suitability or condition of the premises. The User further agrees that they will indemnify and save harmless the Owner from and against any and all claims, whatsoever, including all damages, liabilities, expenses, costs and or any action or proceedings brought therein arising directly or indirectly from or in connection with the granting and use of the premises. The User hereby agrees to release and forever discharge the owner, and the CEED Centre, of and from any and all actions, causes of actions, claims and demands whatsoever arising out of or in relation to the use of the property by the User.
Name Signature Date
Property Owner: _________________________ ___________________
Property User: _________________________ ___________________
Witness: _________________________ ___________________
***NOTE*** The CEED Centre accepts no responsibility for the behaviour or either party and is in no way liable for any outcomes of this agreement.
WAIVER AND INDEMNITY CLAUSE
The User accepts and will use the premises at their own risk and agrees that neither the Owner, nor the CEED Centre have made any warranties or representations respecting the suitability or condition of the premises. The User further agrees that they will indemnify and save harmless the Owner from and against any and all claims, whatsoever, including all damages, liabilities, expenses, costs and or any action or proceedings brought therein arising directly or indirectly from or in connection with the granting and use of the premises. The User hereby agrees to release and forever discharge the owner, and the CEED Centre, of and from any and all actions, causes of actions, claims and demands whatsoever arising out of or in relation to the use of the property by the User.
Good question -- this has been a challenge for many places, but also overcome in many. I hope more of our partners will share in this discussion as we go along.
News Media
Media coverage seems to be the best bet for getting immediate numbers -- but the media coverage doesn't have to be a large newspaper. We've seen good results from small blogs, company newsletters, small community papers. try searching your community for Blogs....try starting on Google, searching for keywords....green, eco, garden, garden club, community garden.
Perhaps even though your individual map hasn't see a huge influx yet, you can word a press release strategically. Most of our other programs had few listings before their first news mention, and after the article or interview, the listings increased, the volunteers and other organizations offering to support increased, and the media outlets contacting for more interviews increased.
There are some things you can claim as successes for your local program even though they relate to the broader project, thus giving you some "backup".
First,start with the fact that Halifax Landshare is a partner of Sharing Backyards. Draw a direct link between you and Sharing Backyards. Some of our partners have minimized this connection, in order to seem more independent and thus have more perceived creative freedom. You'll find as we work together that we have no intention of "stealing your thunder", so to speak. It will be your own creative solutions that make your programs active, and in doing so, you fulfill goals common to you and I.
Once you've established a clear connection to SBY, make note that SBY is currently the largest yard-sharing organization in the world. We have 25 programs between Canada, the USA, New Zealand, and Australia (some of your pamphlets may have a smaller #...I've just gotten rid of the box on the pamphlet stating the number, since its always changing). Besides having the most yard-sharing programs under a unified site, we also offer our services 100% free of charge......thats no money, no required membership, no fees, and no mandatory data collection. There are other yard-sharing programs out there, but this fact separates us from 70% of them. We also have an advanced interactive mapping system, which separates us from the rest of yard sharing org's.
You can also make mention of the other media outlets that have done stories on Sharing Backyards, which include: The Toronto Star, the Washington Post, Body & Soul magazine, Organic Gardening magazine, Mother Earth News, This Old House, CBC Radio, MSN News, Living Green National Radio,The Food Network, etc. I am in the process of creating a section on our main website with references and links to all of these articles.
Anyhow, given the background information, its news enough that a program of SBY has been started in Halifax.
Locations for pamphlets / posters
Looking at your map, it looks as though there are lots of areas with no listings. I would encourage you to explore and see what exists in those areas. One of the coolest things about this project is that it concerns a common need / value to a number of demographics -- we all need to eat, and in times of increasing costs at the grocery store, more and more people are turning to their own yards for their meals.
Some places I tend to target for pamphlet or poster drops:
- Health food stores
- Food banks
- laundrymats
- Community centres
- Swimming pools / gyms
- community bulletin boards
- Single Parent resource centres
- Coffee Shops
- Delis
- pizza joints
- Bookstores
- Public offices -- library, Welfare office, city hall
- Tourist info centres
- Rotary / Lions Club / etc
- Universities,colleges, etc
You could also arrange to speak at the meeting of a garden club or community gardens. Or arrange to both send out an email to a community garden's listserve / email list letting people know about the program Many community gardens have long waiting lists (this is actually how SBY started in Victoria years ago).
There are so many possibilities -- add your thoughts on this as you go along. Just think about a few things. Where do people gather? What sorts of people might have a value in sharing their yard or gaining access to a yard? How might you get these people's attention?
I'll include more thoughts on this in another post -- I'll be starting a separate thread for media.
I hope this helps. Good luck, and please share your findings.
Cheers
Christopher
Jen Stotland said:
we've not been adding listings as quickly as we'd hoped. Local media hve not picked us up because we are not yet a phenomenon. THis is a bit ofa vicious circle as it cuts off one route of publicity. We've been handing out pamphlets at events, postering and using word of mouth as often as we can, and have gotten 9 listings out of a city of 300'000. I'm not sure if this is a normal rate or if there are other things we can try...
Also, we're not sure how to know who has been able to set up a garden out of our listings, without contacting each one of them personally. How do you guage the success of your project?
we've not been adding listings as quickly as we'd hoped. Local media hve not picked us up because we are not yet a phenomenon. THis is a bit ofa vicious circle as it cuts off one route of publicity. We've been handing out pamphlets at events, postering and using word of mouth as often as we can, and have gotten 9 listings out of a city of 300'000.
I'm not sure if this is a normal rate or if there are other things we can try...
Replies
We have had some interesting challenges so far.
(1) We have offers of land, but no takers.
(2) We have had an offer by a tennant without the permission of the landlord.
Our solution to no. 2 is a sample agreement form, which I will attach and/or copy below.
Sharing Backyards Agreement
Property Owner
I _______________________ hereby verify that I own and am entitled to administer the property located at _____________________________.
My property will be accessible from these times on the following days:
Day
Time Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun
Morning:
Afternoon:
Evening:
I have the following tools to share:
I have the following storage facilities for use:
The property has access to water (circle one): YES NO
If YES the procedure for watering is as follows:
I have the following restrictions on who/what is allowed on my property:
Name:_________________________________________________
Name:_________________________________________________
Name:_________________________________________________
Some special restrictions are:
In return for the use of my property I expect:
Property User
I, _____________________ agree to the above terms and conditions and will adhere to them until such time as I submit in writing that I wish to exit this agreement.
WAIVER AND INDEMNITY CLAUSE
The User accepts and will use the premises at their own risk and agrees that neither the Owner, nor the CEED Centre have made any warranties or representations respecting the suitability or condition of the premises. The User further agrees that they will indemnify and save harmless the Owner from and against any and all claims, whatsoever, including all damages, liabilities, expenses, costs and or any action or proceedings brought therein arising directly or indirectly from or in connection with the granting and use of the premises. The User hereby agrees to release and forever discharge the owner, and the CEED Centre, of and from any and all actions, causes of actions, claims and demands whatsoever arising out of or in relation to the use of the property by the User.
Name Signature Date
Property Owner: _________________________ ___________________
Property User: _________________________ ___________________
Witness: _________________________ ___________________
***NOTE*** The CEED Centre accepts no responsibility for the behaviour or either party and is in no way liable for any outcomes of this agreement.
WAIVER AND INDEMNITY CLAUSE
The User accepts and will use the premises at their own risk and agrees that neither the Owner, nor the CEED Centre have made any warranties or representations respecting the suitability or condition of the premises. The User further agrees that they will indemnify and save harmless the Owner from and against any and all claims, whatsoever, including all damages, liabilities, expenses, costs and or any action or proceedings brought therein arising directly or indirectly from or in connection with the granting and use of the premises. The User hereby agrees to release and forever discharge the owner, and the CEED Centre, of and from any and all actions, causes of actions, claims and demands whatsoever arising out of or in relation to the use of the property by the User.
Good question -- this has been a challenge for many places, but also overcome in many. I hope more of our partners will share in this discussion as we go along.
News Media
Media coverage seems to be the best bet for getting immediate numbers -- but the media coverage doesn't have to be a large newspaper. We've seen good results from small blogs, company newsletters, small community papers. try searching your community for Blogs....try starting on Google, searching for keywords....green, eco, garden, garden club, community garden.
Perhaps even though your individual map hasn't see a huge influx yet, you can word a press release strategically. Most of our other programs had few listings before their first news mention, and after the article or interview, the listings increased, the volunteers and other organizations offering to support increased, and the media outlets contacting for more interviews increased.
There are some things you can claim as successes for your local program even though they relate to the broader project, thus giving you some "backup".
First,start with the fact that Halifax Landshare is a partner of Sharing Backyards. Draw a direct link between you and Sharing Backyards. Some of our partners have minimized this connection, in order to seem more independent and thus have more perceived creative freedom. You'll find as we work together that we have no intention of "stealing your thunder", so to speak. It will be your own creative solutions that make your programs active, and in doing so, you fulfill goals common to you and I.
Once you've established a clear connection to SBY, make note that SBY is currently the largest yard-sharing organization in the world. We have 25 programs between Canada, the USA, New Zealand, and Australia (some of your pamphlets may have a smaller #...I've just gotten rid of the box on the pamphlet stating the number, since its always changing). Besides having the most yard-sharing programs under a unified site, we also offer our services 100% free of charge......thats no money, no required membership, no fees, and no mandatory data collection. There are other yard-sharing programs out there, but this fact separates us from 70% of them. We also have an advanced interactive mapping system, which separates us from the rest of yard sharing org's.
You can also make mention of the other media outlets that have done stories on Sharing Backyards, which include: The Toronto Star, the Washington Post, Body & Soul magazine, Organic Gardening magazine, Mother Earth News, This Old House, CBC Radio, MSN News, Living Green National Radio,The Food Network, etc. I am in the process of creating a section on our main website with references and links to all of these articles.
Anyhow, given the background information, its news enough that a program of SBY has been started in Halifax.
Locations for pamphlets / posters
Looking at your map, it looks as though there are lots of areas with no listings. I would encourage you to explore and see what exists in those areas. One of the coolest things about this project is that it concerns a common need / value to a number of demographics -- we all need to eat, and in times of increasing costs at the grocery store, more and more people are turning to their own yards for their meals.
Some places I tend to target for pamphlet or poster drops:
- Health food stores
- Food banks
- laundrymats
- Community centres
- Swimming pools / gyms
- community bulletin boards
- Single Parent resource centres
- Coffee Shops
- Delis
- pizza joints
- Bookstores
- Public offices -- library, Welfare office, city hall
- Tourist info centres
- Rotary / Lions Club / etc
- Universities,colleges, etc
You could also arrange to speak at the meeting of a garden club or community gardens. Or arrange to both send out an email to a community garden's listserve / email list letting people know about the program Many community gardens have long waiting lists (this is actually how SBY started in Victoria years ago).
There are so many possibilities -- add your thoughts on this as you go along. Just think about a few things. Where do people gather? What sorts of people might have a value in sharing their yard or gaining access to a yard? How might you get these people's attention?
I'll include more thoughts on this in another post -- I'll be starting a separate thread for media.
I hope this helps. Good luck, and please share your findings.
Cheers
Christopher
Jen Stotland said:
I'm not sure if this is a normal rate or if there are other things we can try...