VISTA Matters is the weekly community newsletter for garden members. Included are key dates and communications necessary for all members to know and be involved. 
VISTA Gardens News - November 16, 2016
Fall Festival Volunteers 
Post Event Survey: Please Complete!

If you are a garden member please give five minutes to complete the survey! Only a few have responded and we'd like to have your input to help we can improve next year's event. 

Please don't let poor participation results deliver a cold turkey.  Link to Survey
You are invited

What:   Christmas Garden Stroll
Where : Plant City Commons Community Garden
              2001 E. Cherry St., Plant City, FL
              (South side of the Plant City HCC campus)
When :   December 18 - 30, 2016
              5:00 - 10:00 p.m. 

Stroll through the botanical gardens at your leisure and delight in the handiwork of the gardens members and sponsors. Santa will stop by, music will play and the kids will frolic around the gardens on winding pathways. 

Recycled Yard Art Project

Hosted by  U F/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County i n conjunction  with The Florida State Fair

Where:  Florida State Fair Grounds
             4800 U.S. 301
             Tampa, FL 33610
When:   February 9 - 2017

The Recycled Yard Art submissions include two and three-dimensional art created using recycled and/or up-cycled materials. The contest has four categories: elementary, middle and high school, plus adult. Competition is open to residents of Hillsborough County.

For entry forms, rules or more information, contact Lisa Meredith at 813-744-5519 x54146 or at MeredithL@HillsboroughCounty.org
Susan Baxter Gibson appointed to Carrollwood Cultural Center Board of Director's

VISTA Gardens Treasurer and Financial Committee lead, Susan Baxter Gibson, has added a new role to her volunteer plate by joining the CCC Board of Director's. 

Susan's role in both organizations is great for VISTA as it will provide an ongoing linkage between Hillsborough County's two top Carrollwood community non-profits. 

Those of you who watched Susan, and her husband Jay, perform in this year's productions of, "An Evening with Gilbert and Sullivan/' and "9 to 5" clearly understand why the CCC wanted Susan to bring her talents to bear in an ongoing capacity. 

Congratulations!
Ongoing Activities

Saturday Work Parties
Fulfill your community volunteer requirement by joining fellow gardeners on Saturday mornings to tackle the maintenance needs of the garden at large. It's a fun time and you get some exercise and the garden stays looking great. Keeping the garden regularly maintained prevents us from major intermittent workload.  The party starts at 9 a.m. every weekend, weather permitting. 

Compost Thursdays
Committee members meet at the garden Thursday's at 8 a.m. to turn the compost. Please join the team if you would like to learn more about composting.

Compost Materials Needed 
General reminder: To produce high quality input the community needs to provide a steady supply of material. This includes vegetable waste (garden or kitchen). Please bring your waste to the garden, don't let it go to the landfill! NOTE: We are at capacity for leaves, cardboard and shredded paper right now. Please do not bring any more for the forseeable future. 

Keep in touch with VISTA
We are working hard to streamline communications to ensure you receive the right content in the right place when you need it.
1. Facebook: Like "VISTA Gardens" to receive updates on key activities throughout the week
If you do NOT use Facebook please reply to this email and you will be added to a separate email distribution list. The team will do its best to email any time sensitive updates requiring community attention to this list when a post is made to Facebook.
2. Tuesday email: Summarizes key activity and news for the upcoming week
3. Monthly newsletter: More detail into topics of interest and education (see link above!)
4. Web site: Our address is vistagardentampa.org (note: no 's' in garden). A repository of membership information, detailed education, links to articles on shared topics of interest. Plus much, much more. 
VISTA Gardens | comms@vistagarden.org | vistagardentampa.org
STAY CONNECTED: