The Garden Program

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Location

5213 Logsden Rd. (Second drive past mile marker five)

The Siletz Community Health Clinic’s Food Sovereignty Program operates and stewards a 38-acre property as a diversified organic practicing farm that provides healthy food options and cultural opportunities for Tribal members.

The program seeks to improve the health of our Siletz Tribal membership and community by providing access to clean organic produce, outdoor recreation, garden education, and culturally congruent activities in a safe space. Along with many other Community Health Departments and CTSI programs, the Food Sovereignty Program is dedicated to providing health promotional services at the determination of the Siletz Tribe and surrounding community.

Tel-tvm’ (Siletz Tribal Farm)

Tel-tvm’ is the name for the Siletz Farm in Nuu-wee-ya’/Siletz Dee-ni’. In 2019, CTSI purchased the 38-acre property near the city of Siletz with the goal of serving some of the health needs and food disparity in the community. Since then, the Siletz Community Health Clinic has maintained funding and program support to help steward community relationships with the land called Tel-tvm’.

The stewardship and programming at Tel-tvm’ is intentionally guided by feedback from the Siletz Tribal membership and local community. With additional input from a Garden Committee, Siletz Tribal administration, and a wide variety of other internal and external collaborations, the Food Sovereignty Program is able to meet many health needs that are determined by the local community. In addition to providing health promotional services for the community, the program is continues to enhance education outreach, vocational skill-building for youth, and access to cultural materials and services for Tribal Members.

The Program

In just two growing seasons the Garden Program has grown exponentially and continues to expand services thanks to the wonderful support of the community, other CTSI programs, excellent staff, and many external collaborations.

Produce Distribution: Everything is a gift at Tel-tvm’. All the food harvested and produced by the program is distributed at no-charge to Tribal members, the Siletz Valley Charter School, other CTSI program collaborations, and on-farm visitors as a health promotional service for our community. Access to food from the farm is as easy as a visit to harvest your own or to access the already harvested and washed produce made available by staff in season. Creative collaborations and distribution channels such as Siletz Valley Charter School, Tribal USDA, Area offices, other CTSI programs, and the Food Sovereignty Program have allowed an abundance of fresh organic food to reach our communities!

On-Farm Attendance:  Tel-tvm’ is open to the community. The Siletz Tel-tvm’ staff along with other CTSI programs utilize the Siletz Farm as a safe place for programming activities, education opportunities, community events, and other culturally congruent activities. One example is the Agriculture Class in the Siletz Valley Charter School where garden staff teach a weekly class on place-based curriculum about plants, local landscapes, and the cultural traditions that surround them. The Siletz Farm also hosted over 100 on-farm events, tours, and gatherings throughout the year. Communication of events is often done through the Siletz Newspaper, Clinic social media, staff e-mails, and the Garden Program’s e-mail newsletter that has over 900 participants.

Program Outreach: In 2023 the Garden Program recorded an outreach impact of 285 individuals and in 2024 the recorded outreach impact was 1,056 individuals (271% Increase). In addition to on-farm events, Garden Program staff extends themselves outside of the Siletz Farm to participate in educational opportunities within the community. Collaborations with other programs extends the garden education and culturally congruent information that the program can provide to the community. Attending events such as Culture Camp, Wellness Carnival, Siletz Night Out, and responding to garden education requests from the Siletz Valley Charter School and other Lincoln County school districts has allowed the Garden Program to significantly increase the amount of outreach to our community.

Food Sovereignty Box Program: The Food Sovereignty Program works directly with Tribal members and their families to ensure that access to program services such as fresh produce, herbs, cultural plants, and garden information is reaching people where they are in their journey. Siletz Tel-tvm’ staff harvests, washes, and packs fresh produce that includes seasonal availability of fruits and vegetables as well as recipes. Each week during the season, Tribal members work directly with farm staff to sign up for a call list and pick up produce each week depending on availability. During the summer months, TYEE youth participants help operate the program learning how to plan operations, harvest a wide variety of produce, and interact with individuals that are picking up from the Siletz Farm.

Additional Gift Value:

Everything that we produce at Tel-tvm’ is a gift for our community. In additional to growing and distributing fresh organic produce, the Siletz Farm also produces a variety of products that are used by Tribal members, programs, and our community. Items such as plant starts for gardens, vegetable and flower seeds, dried herbs for the Clinic apothecary, preserved foods, flower bouquets, and other preserved food gifts which are all grown, harvested, processed, and packaged by program staff as a created value using sustainable resources from the Siletz Farm. Vegetable and plant starts grown from the Tel-tvm’ and seeds harvested from the farm are typically available year-round to help with your gardening adventure!

Events

Follow our Facebook at, https://www.facebook.com/SiletzTribalFarm/ to get the most up-to-date information on events. 

Join our email list for information of events and special opportunities the program has to offer by emailing JamesM@ctsi.nsn.us.

• January – Planning Season
• February – Wetland Habitat Restoration
• March – Spring Preparation
• April – Strawberry Planting and Spring Nursery
• May – Annual Plant Nursery Giveaway
• June – Planting Season
• July – Summer TYEE
• August – Berry Season
• September – Season of Abundance
• October – Harvest Hayrides
• November – Holiday Harvests
• December – Winter Arrival

Property Features

Several improvements and construction projects have been accomplished in order to fulfill the needs of the space including installing a new well and extensive rainwater collection system that will serve as our irrigation for plant production. Two greenhouses on the property help extend the growing season and all gardens are enclosed in a 5-acre exclusion fence. 

Growing Plans

In addition to providing health promotional services for the community, the Food Sovereignty Program is dedicated to Tribal membership and guidance to ensure our program continues to serve. Participation in a voluntary Garden Committee can help us  enhance food system education outreach, vocational skill-building for youth, and access to cultural materials and produce for Tribal members. Creativity is our limitation. Please fill out our online feedback survery or contact one of our staff members with questions or feedback anytime.

Staff

Gallery

Click through the gallery to see our progress!