kids | Backyard Roots

Kelly Carlisle in the Act Non Verba farm she founded in East Oakland.

Kelly Carlisle is a woman of action, so it’s appropriate the Latin name she selected for the youth urban farm project she started, Acta Non Verba, means “action not words.”

Back in 2010, Carlisle was a U.S. Navy vet who had recently returned to the Bay Area. At the time, she became upset over an article about East Oakland and its 40 percent dropout rate, its lack of opportunities, and its rampant crime and violence. It was deeply troubling to her, having grown up in East Oakland. About the same time, she noticed her daughter didn’t like going there, and Carlisle felt a bit of elitism creeping in. She also felt driven to make a change. Having recently gotten into growing food, Carlisle thought the way to reach kids was to get them involved in growing, too, and she settled on starting a nonprofit urban farm project for kids.

“The first thing I did was buy books,” said Carlisle, a reader who believes the power of change starts with education. The book, she said, told her to begin by “telling everyone.” She did, starting with her mom, her friends, and others. She perfected her elevator pitch, and then met Cynthia Armstrong, the director of Tassafaronga Recreation Center on 85th Avenue in East Oakland. Unbelievably to Carlisle, Armstrong was interested in her idea to set up a community urban farm on a quarter-acre portion of Tassafaronga Park.

Carlisle wrote up a proposal, and it was accepted. She got to work, writing grant proposals and planning the garden and the program. She has gone on to get many grants, but it’s never easy, she said. And it was especially difficult at first, being unknown, she said.

Carlisle learned a lot from the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment. She has a soft spot for the Oakland nonprofit that promotes community advocacy to protect the environment, public health, and consumers. Carlisle credits the foundation with helping her on many levels, from leadership training to technical support.

It was through the Rose Foundation that she met a fellow nonprofit leader who led to her being invited to a presidential dinner last year. “I wasn’t going to go, but everyone said I should. So I got myself the very best Ross Dress for Less dress and went.” Carlisle also got the incredibly stressful honor, she said, of being selected to sit next to President Obama while he talked about her program.

Today Acta Non Verba farm offers summer camps for kids from kindergarten to eighth grade plus spring- and winter-break classes. The kids learn all about growing, from seeds to harvest, and they sell the produce on a farm stand and through CSA farmers. The profits they earn go into a savings account for college, an idea that came to Carlisle after she read kids who save for college are seven times more likely to go to college. Their activities also include cooking, dance, and art; the summer camp offers a healthy homemade breakfast, lunch, and snack.

Acta Non Verba takes all kids, but the nonprofit generally charges a small fee. Carlisle said that’s because she has found people value the program more when they pay for it.

Carlisle’s advice to others who wish to follow their dreams comes from a book she loves, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedoms. “Be impeccable in your intentions,” she said.

It’s good advice that she practices—just like the axiom that hits even closer to home: action not words.

Visit Acta Non Verba website here.

This story originally came out in Oakland Magazine October 2015.

Kids learn about thinning seedlings at the Acta Non Verba summer camp.

Kids learn about thinning seedlings with Instructor Kana Azhari at the Acta Non Verba summer camp.

Kids learn about thinning seedlings at the Acta Non Verba summer camp.

Singing and drumming are popular with the kids at Acta Non Verba summer camp.

Afia Walking Tree leads the kids with a song at Acta Non Verba summer camp.

Singing and drumming are popular with the kids at Acta Non Verba summer camp.

Taylor Melendy leads kids with a song at Acta Non Verba summer camp.

Kids get a homemade lunch that includes food they've help grow, like herbs in the pasta salad at Acta Non Verba.

HuNia Bradley adds home grown herbs with intern Diamond Allen. Kids get a homemade lunch that includes food they’ve help grow.

I’ve always wondered about the goats I’ve seen grazing along the railroad tracks in San Francisco’s Bayview District. Recently I got the chance to meet manager Genevieve Church and learn about the city’s largest herd of weed eaters.

It all started six years ago when Genevieve’s boss, David Gavrich brought in goats to keep the weeds down along the railroad tracks at his company, Waste Solutions Group. Later he started renting out the herd to others and City Grazing was born. Genevieve started working for City Grazing in 2012 as a part time goat herder. Today she manages full time. She’s named all of the nearly 100 animals in the herd and she loves working with them. “They are really smart animals she says “and unlike sheep, they can be separated into smaller herds and recombined again, making a single herd leader unnecessary. Instead we have many animals with good leadership qualities.”

Goats are also very strong, independent and hardy. Pound for pound they are about 4 times as strong as dogs. They are “opportunistic browsers” and are perfect for clearing invasive weeds such as blackberries and ivy, which are high in salt and copper, two minerals that goats need. The myth of goats eating anything is partly because of their need for salt and minerals.

I was surprised to see all the goats with their horns still attached since some cities require them to be disbudded. Genevieve says she feels there’s no reason to remove them. The horns are part of the goats and they use them. She’s also noticed the animals are better behaved with the horns attached. “The ones that came to us without horns act like they have something to prove” she says. The horns are also natural handles and are useful when trying to guide them.

City Grazing rents out the goats to clear public and private land and there are lots of advantages for using them for weed control: they work in rough terrain, there’s no hauling of debris, or need for herbacides and they fertilize as they go. The cost for renting the goats ranges from $300 in San Francisco and there are four factors Genevieve uses to estimate a job: location, fencing needs, size and type of vegetation. The goats also are rented out for events like birthday parties, weddings and photo shoots. Since Genevieve knows them all she’s able to help pick the right goat for the job.

This year has brought many new kids to the herd. 29 does gave birth to over 50 kids. City Grazing is in the process of switching to smaller sized animals that are easier to transport and control. Visit citygrazing.com for more info.