March – May 2010
Update from the President, John Hobson
"Welcome to My Big Backyard"
My Big Backyard is a small for profit LLC. which operates in conjunction with the non-profit Hobson Foundation, Inc. Our goal is to provide and/or maintain a series of sympathetic and purposeful gardening sites which will offer safe and structured programs for those who wish to reap the many benefits of horticulture therapy.
Our garden sites can offer a variety of learning and healing benefits to our participants:
- A parent and young child can experience companionship, enjoy, participate, learn, and observe natural growth.
- A person with dementia or Alzheimer’s has the potential of experiencing comfort and the simple joys of the garden atmosphere.
- An individual in a transitional phase of their life can regain skills, learn new skills and gain self confidence.
- Youth from urban areas can gain basic gardening and nutritional education, knowledge and understanding of a new environment, as well as exposure to supportive mentors and peers within the program.
- All life forms benefit when the balance of nature is in order. Humans are a part of that balance. In order to realize our full potential as human beings and take our places in the grand scheme of the natural world, a growing, understanding and encouraging environment is a must.
Part of our mission is to encourage each participant to become a responsible and a grateful steward of our environment. We support green philosophies that have proven effective and will adopt programming offered by the local, State, and federal agencies.
It’s of great importance to us to cultivate the importance of “Getting Back to Basics” in order for our participants to discover what is truly important in a sometimes very complicated life.
THE PRESENT
The first full year of development is behind us and My Big Backyard is prepared to enter its first season. Now is the time to break some ground and get our fingers in the soil.
- Breaking Ground on site locations: We have identified two sites in Queenstown, Maryland. These sites are 15 acres each. Suitable for handling programs simultaneously.
- Breaking Ground on our website: Our website is up and running. Check back frequently for updates and current news on our activities.
- Breaking Ground on our first project: My Big Backyard will partner to provide an outdoor gardening experience to at risk youth from the Glen Burnie area of Maryland. Visit our Programs Page for more details.
- Breaking Ground on our second project: In late September we will hold the FIRST ANNUAL THANKSGIVING FESTIVAL, a perfect time to reap the harvest and enjoy the fruits of our labor. This festival will be open to the community and families of all participants. It is our desire to have local artisans set up and display their lovely creations and have local musicians set the mood for the afternoon of fellowship and fun. Details to follow.
- Assessing Progress: At the culmination of this first year My Big Backyard will assess the ups and downs in order to build on the successes and learn from what did and did not work. We plan on creating the ideal learning environment so that time spent at My Big Backyard will be fun and engaging. We will identify individual strengths and weaknesses in order to give particular emphasis where needed. We will encourage an atmosphere that fosters peer support in an attempt to create trust and harmony.
It is our understanding that each hour/day will bring a new challenge and that by keeping our eye on the end result we will be a success. Prayer, persistence and patients will get us through this first year which will become the foundation My Big Backyard.
OUR FUTURE
The ultimate goal of My Big Backyard is to maintain a central location and develop educational programs that are reflective of family life on the early farm and promote a sense of community. However our model does not rely on a central site. Our model can be implemented anywhere from inside a care facility, a 10 foot x 10 foot garden plot or a small farm capable of becoming a self sustaining entity.
- Cultivating Partners: This is an on going process. We are open to partners that have an interest in what we are doing and we are open to your ideas. We want to provide services to our community in any way we can.
- Our Organization/Agency Interest Form
- Future Programs: Animal Husbandry, Farm Equipment Repair (including wind turbines and solar panels), Equestrian Programs, Cooking and Food Preservation and Craft Activities."
