February 27, 1996 Contact: Melanie Mintz (408) 459-3248

UC SANTA CRUZ INTRODUCES BILINGUAL FARM TOURS AND FIRST- EVER GUIDED TOURS OF THE ALAN CHADWICK GARDEN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--Come celebrate the beginning of spring with a visit to the lush organic Farm or the historic Alan Chadwick Garden at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Beginning March 21, Farm tours will be held every Thursday at noon and most Sundays at 2 p.m. For the first time this year, tours of the Chadwick Garden will be held on the first Sunday of each month at 2 p.m. There will be no Farm tour that day.

Also new this year are bilingual tours of the Farm; on the third Sunday of the month, the tour will be conducted in English and Spanish. Trained docents offer the free 90-minute public tours.

All tours highlight the ecologically sound farming methods used at UC Santa Cruz. Visitors to the Farm and its adjoining garden will see row crops, orchards, and the biointensive garden where flowers, vegetables, and herbs are grown without chemical pesticides or fertilizers. University researchers are constantly developing new organic growing techniques on the Farm, where field tests are under way year-round. Docents provide an overview of UCSC's research in sustainable agriculture as part of the tour, and many of the techniques used at the Farm are appropriate for backyard gardeners. Spring activities include soil preparation, cultivation and planting of seedlings, as well as the harvest of early spring vegetables.

At the Chadwick Garden, visitors will see an impressive display of organic roses, native perennials, dwarf fruit trees, and an array of fruits and vegetables that are cultivated on a steep slope.

Farm tours begin at the Farm entrance, which is located 1/4 mile up the gravel road above the Blacksmith Shop; parking is available across the street from the Blacksmith Shop in the Campus Facilities parking lot. Tours of the Chadwick Garden meet at the garden entrance on Coolidge Drive; parking is available in the Stevenson College parking lots across the street.

Special tours are also available for schoolchildren and other groups. For more information, call Melanie Mintz at (408) 459-3248.

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