About Us
Mission/Vision
Patch Trust works to acquire, build, preserve and protect community gardens in Seattle’s neighborhoods.
Through, advocacy, leadership and partnerships, The Trust expands access to community gardening across economic, racial, ethnic, ability and gender lines; promotes organic gardening and builds community through gardening.
We seek to break urban isolation by providing opportunities for people to garden together, learn from each other, develop a sense of neighborhood, and create a more livable urban environment.
We are a non-profit volunteer organization. By targeting our efforts on 1. garden acquisition and development and 2. program support and advocacy we hope to further our vision of creating community gardens throughout Seattle.
History
The P-Patch Trust was started in 1979 after years of grassroots organizing by the city’s “P-Patchers”. This original group started as the “P-Patch Advisory Council” representing the interest of community gardeners within city bureaucracy, politics and growing land-use issues. By 1987 the pressures of growth in the region led the Council members to develop a “Land Stewardship Committee” charged with protecting gardens through purchase and landowner relationship development. It was this year that the first truly permanent community garden was deeded to the P-Patch Advisory Council to be held for permanent preservation as a community garden.
In the early 1990’s, the Council took on the responsibilities of forming a 501 (c)3. It was named the “Friends of P-Patch”. This organization was member-based and focused on supporting the City’s P-Patch Program after years of dwindling resources. In combination with pressures to use land for housing or commercial purposes and worsening economic pressures, Friends of P-Patch worked hard to strengthen funds and secure land. It was during this period that the Gardenship Fund was established to offer low-income gardeners financial support in paying their garden fees as well as the “land acquisition fund” specifically dedicating money to purchasing land.
In 2003 the Friends of P-Patch officially changed and became the P-Patch Trust. Programs such as Cultivating Communities and the Gardenship Funds continued in this new form while the focus was strengthened on purchasing and securing land within city limits for community gardening. The change in structure meant the Trust was no longer a member based organization, instead relying on the fundraising skills of its Board and volunteers to perpetuate their mission.
In addition to promoting and supporting community organic community gardening in the Seattle the new Articles chartered the Trust to (1) operate as a nature conservancy by acquiring, owning, conserving, and preserving urban open spaces to be utilized as public community gardens, (2) promote the conservation of urban open space for the use and enjoyment of the general public, (3) to provide sustainable opportunities for low income families and (4) through leadership, coordinated effort and open forum to educate Seattle residents regarding urban ecology and biodiversity through organic gardening.
P-Patch Trust combines, when possible, green-friendly funds, individual, and community support for development of P-Patch sites and community gardens. The Trust seeks to play a leading role in advocating organic principles, ensuring access to low income gardeners, encouraging produce donations to food banks, and preserving gardens through purchase.
For more history, visit the City of Seattle’s P-Patch Program History Page.
Assessment
A recent study was published by students at the University of Washington in the Sociology Department. This report outlines their inquiry into community gardener’s awareness, knowledge and thoughts on the Trust. You can view the report here.
Volunteer Board of Directors
Cyndi Asmus brings twenty years of experience in non-profit management and fundraising to the P-Patch Community Gardening Program. She earned a masters degree in Environmental Education from Indiana University and is currently the Director for Advancement for the University of Washington Libraries. A life-long gardener, she moved to Seattle in 2003 and immediately got involved at the Evanston P-Patch. She has served as co-coordinator for Evanston since 2006 and has championed increased support of the Greenwood Foodbank and increased community building among gardeners through the management of Evanston. She seeks to promote the growing of organic food and the power of community building through the P-Patch program. Cyndi joined the Board in November 2009.
Stephanie Bowman is experienced in both the for-profit and non-profit spheres; she has a personal commitment to sustainability practices and interest in building strong communities. Stephanie is an experienced public relations and fundraising professional, and she has very strong contacts in a variety of industries throughout Seattle. She seeks to establish new alliances for the Trust outside of common cause organizations in order to increase awareness of the organization. Stephanie was first appointed to the Board in November 2005. Stephanie is a member of the Growing Communities Committee
Alice Burgess is a communications consultant with 25 years of experience in creating and managing public/community relations programs for non-profit organizations and public agencies. Much of her work is focused on “friend-raising” communication strategies that maximize fund-raising potential. An escaped journalist, Alice taught writing for public relations and fund-raising professionals at the University of Washington for many years. She has been an avid gardener since her pre-school years, and she finds the Seattle p-patch program particularly compelling because of its power to draw together people from diverse cultures and socio-economic strata, uniting them around a healthy shared interest. Alice was first appointed to the Board in April 2006. She serves as the Board’s Vice President and chairs the Growing Communities Committee.
Jacqueline Cramer has over 19 years experience working on the land and with the community. From work in land use planning and organic farming to community organizing and teaching, she has brought her passion for growing food to many people and places. She has worked to create garden spaces for refuge communities and participated in development of food security policies in Ontario, Canada. At WSU Extension she co-created and taught a nutrition and gardening curriculum and program, installing school gardens and connecting children to farms in King County. She has worked in non profit organizations, cooked in restaurants, and has been an organic farmer of chickens and vegetables. Currently a professional landscape gardener, she advocates and emphasizes urban farming and using land for food, wherever possible. Jacqueline was first appointed to the Board in June 2006.
Mark Huston is a senior technical analyst for a major telecom provider. Mark is an expert at Microsoft Excel and Access. His analysis skills have saved his employers hundreds of thousands of dollars. As Site Coordinator of the Ballard P-Patch from 2002 to 2008, Mark developed the garden from an unorganized group of individual plots to a strong community with a passion for welcoming and inclusion. Under Mark’s leadership, Ballard P-Patch installed a large central patio and many other building projects. Donations to the food bank increased to record levels. He developed a strong partnership between the garden and the sponsoring church. He installed fourteen “Tall Boxes” for waist-level gardening for gardeners with disabilities. Mark brings analysis and team-building skills to the Board. Mark currently leads the quarterly Site Coordinator meetings to provide training and help Site Coordinators better serve the program and their gardeners. Mark was first appointed to the Board in June2008.
Erin MacDougall has a BA in Zoology from the University of Washington and a PhD in Nutrition from the University of California, Davis. Erin works at Public Health – Seattle & King County as the Healthy Eating and Active Living Program Manager. Erin comes to the board with a strong commitment to food access and security, youth gardening and nutrition, public health education to prevent chronic disease and a passion for growing her own food. Her energy has been focused as a research scientist, community gardener, health educator, fundraiser, community organizer and volunteer, wine enthusiast and foodie and avid reader. Erin is working on efforts to expand community gardening on school grounds in Seattle… Erin was appointed to the Board in April 2006. Erin is a member of the Growing Communities Committee.
Michele Mancuso grew up in a family whose garden was a neighborhood institution. Their dinner table was not only the center of family business, but a regular gathering place for exchange and exploration of ideas. Michele studied Resources Management and completed a Bachelor’s degree in Geography. She did graduate work in Urban Planning before earning a Master’s degree in Business. When Michele’s children were small, she was a Parent Coordinator and later Chair of the Parent Advisory Council for the South Seattle Community College Co-op Preschool. She currently works for the University of Washington as the Production Supervisor for Creative Communications. An avid reader, cook and gardener who appreciates a lively discussion, Michele loves to travel and to be outdoors. “We have to reconnect individual people with each other and with the Earth in order to strengthen our sense of community and stewardship. Michele was appointed to the Board in November 2009.
Michael McNutt currently owns and manages his own printing business in Seattle. Another passion is building strong communities and in securing open space in the city where people can gather, talk, and garden. As a native of Seattle, Michael has contacts throughout the public and private sectors and hopes to increase the Trust’s ability to raise money in order to execute on its mission. Additionally, he hopes his business experiences will contribute to improving the Trust’s effectiveness at executing on its strategic planning goals and objectives. Michael has served on a variety of boards including the Epilepsy Association, Washington Manufacturing Services and has served on the Trust’s Land Stewardship Committee (now called Building Gardens Committee) since 1998 and joined the Board in June of 2003. Michael is currently Treasurer and is the chair of the Building Communities Committee.
Brenda Matter Brenda is a Physical Therapist with 28 years of experience in a profession that requires the ability to analyze and treat complex musculo-neuro-skeletal medical problems and skill at teaching the individual client about their condition and how to do their part to further their healing and ongoing management. She has been a small business owner for 7 years as co-owner of Sound Physical Therapy in Seattle. In this role she has worked co-operatively to manage all aspects of the business including budget and employee issues. She has also been a vegetable gardener for 38 years. For many of those years she has been involved with Community Garden Programs, including several years as a site do-ordinator and Garden Leader in the Seattle PPatch Program. In this latter role, Brenda continues to work to co-ordinate gardeners and interested community members to facilitate finding common ground in preserving and maintaining community garden spaces. Active listening skills are needed for this work as well. A further food interest is in cooking and preserving foods, combining foods and beverages in traditional or unique ways, and always searching for local and sustainable ingredients to support local food production to support food security for the region. As part of this interest in local ingredients she is very interested in the healing properties of plants, and has taken several classes on this topic. She also enjoys other outdoor activities such as skiing and hiking and long walks, and loves to sew and work with photography when she gets a chance. Brenda was appointed to the Board in December 2009.
Cristina Mone works for Seattle-King County Health Department managing print production and direct mail of health promotion materials. Cristina is interested in urban food gardening, food security issues and public green space and has served in various garden-related volunteer projects in Seattle. She led the Board in its effort to rename and brand the organization to more clearly represent its mission. Cristina supports the newsletter publication, is chair of the Growing Communities Committee, and as Vice President is a member of the Executive and Finance Committee. Cristina was appointed to the Board in June of 2003
Joyce Moty joined the Board in 2006 and brings political savvy, experience in community building, and practical knowledge of community gardening and site management. She has served on numerous non-profit and civic boards, helped establish the forerunner of P-Patch Trust, and currently sits on the Citizens Oversight Committee for the Seattle ProParks Levy. Joyce, through her community activism, regularly collaborates with members of Seattle Tilth, King County Master Gardeners, Washington Native Plant Society, EarthCorps, Seattle Green Partnership, and Parks and Open Space Advocates.
Ray Schutte is a retired information technologies manager from Starbucks. He is experienced in building sustainable non-profit organizations. He has a strong personal commitment as an advocate of urban open space and community gardening programs. Ray is an experienced people and technology manager; and has contacts in the public and private sector. Ray seeks to provide leadership for the Trust to grow as an organization. Ray joined the Board in June 2000. Ray is currently President of the Board and serves on all committees.
Sheryl Smith is currently an Administrative Assistant at Harbor Properties. She has served ad President of the Ingrahm High School PTSA. Sheryl gardens at the Pinehurst P-Patch. She has worked with the Society of Design Administrators in launching and campaigning for the construction of structures using canned and boxed food at the Bite of Seattle and then donated to Food Lifeline. Sheryl brings a sense of organization and a love of the community to the Board. Sheryl joined the Board in June 2008. She currently serves as Secretary of the Board.
Tracy Stober currently works for the University of Washington as the managing editor for the Journal of Korean Studies. In addition, she operates Stober Consulting, a small business that specializes in English consulting and communication. Prior to getting her MA in International Relations-Korea Studies at the UW, she received her BA in Biological Sciences from Southern Illinois University. Tracy worked as a park district outdoor educator for 10 years coordinating volunteers, facilitating workshops, leading hikes/outdoor adventures, and organizing Native American pow-wows. She is fascinated by other cultures and believes strongly in getting to know people through learning their languages. Tracy was appointed to the Board in November 2009
