3. Great Accomplishments
• Symposium
• American Community Gardening Association Training
• Funding to every county in the state
• NC Community Garden Partnership – 501(c)(3)
• NC CGP Web presence
• Interactive website
• Facebook page
• Directory of Gardens
• Training other States
5. Briggs Community Garden
•
•
•
•
Building community network sharing knowledge & support
Developing diverse leadership
Increasing civic engagement
Helping folks from historically excluded populations realize
that they are the change agents they have been waiting for.
6. Dig In! Yancey Community Garden
www.diginyancey.org
“No Yancey County resident should go hungry.”
Our greatest success is that we exist at all.
• 4 growing seasons old
• Growing 3,000 pounds of organic vegetables annually
• All donated to feeding county residents
7. Dr. John Wilson Community Garden
• Permanent part-time Garden Manager position on staff
with the town of Black Mountain
• Installed 100 fruit and nut trees
• Installed native and medicinal plant trail
• Established a mushroom forest
• Created fundraising events and sponsorships
• empty bowls, and grow the garden
• Maintain a successful school garden despite budget cuts
8. Fairfield Plantation Community Garden
•
•
•
•
•
Improving the soil
Creating 48 5’X20’ plots
Girl Scout built two benches on the side of the garden
Getting to know neighbors
Collaborating with neighborhood grounds committee to
recycle split rails and timbers from improvement projects
in the neighborhood
• Non-gardening neighbors donating old timbers, tools and
wheelbarrows
9. Greene County Cooperative Extension
• Brought together 20 total strangers and formed a
healthy, friendly, caring, sharing family
• Provided 1,246 pounds (and counting) of produce to the
Interfaith Food Bank our 1st year
• Brought together community, received tremendous
support from the community
10. Guilford County Cooperative Extension
• Converted school garden into community garden
• Got the whole community behind this wonderful
concept of raising fresh produce and educating
our children in the process
11. Liberty Community Garden
•
•
•
•
•
Gardeners resettled refugees from Bhutan
Shared harvest with Food Shuttle
Volunteers, Members, Donations
Completed 3 seasons
Garden supervisor
12. Little Sugar Creek Community Garden
• Partnerships
• County Government
• Parks and Recreation Day Camps
• Social Services
• Correctional Facilities
• Public and Private Schools
• Volunteers
• Muscadine Grapes
13. The Lord’s Acre’
•
•
•
•
•
Community Survey
Share the Harvest market
Adopted Core Beliefs upon which to base decisions
Gave away 9.5 tons of Organic Produce
SPROUTS program for kids
14. Mt. Vernon Community Garden
2011 - Started by transporting water from home
Installed a water pump and irrigation to raised beds
2013
• 532 sq. ft. center; 2 covered shelters / outside classrooms
• “Math, Agriculture Science, Options, and Opportunities”
afternoon/summer program with High School and
Community Colleges
• Dedication service
• attended by 40 people from church and community
• Low country boil, and gift bags, all items donated
by local farmers and businesses.
• 25 fruit trees donated
15. SEEDS
• Incorporated in 1994
• Growth of Gardeners and Staff
• Live sustainably, share, increased knowledge
16. Challenges
• Human Issues
•
Educating People
•
Keeping people motivated during the hot summer month
•
Maintaining well established leadership teams
•
Finding academic leaders with vision & knowledge to make those visions come true
•
Understanding how structural oppression effects low income populations as it relates
to food systems & how to overcome these structures.
• Funding
• Physical Issues
•
Huge area to maintain
•
Being an organic community garden.
17. Needs
Things
• Shed
• Bigger equipment
• Well
• Walk-in cooler
Training
• Grantsmanship
• Getting people to take responsibility
Information
•
Organic pest & disease control products & soil amendments
18. Words of Wisdom
•
Not everyone needs a community garden
•
We need to be careful about wanting something for others.
•
This is not a case of build it and they will come.
•
We need to provide lots of education so they can come to their own decisions
•
Build your team before the first things are planted.
19. Words of Wisdom
About Management
• Build your soil and core values before anything else. Even if it
takes a year. Base decisions on beliefs, for example:
• Bringing people together, giving them agency, inspiration and support.
• There are many types of hunger. Everyone is hungry for something. Everyone
has something to give.
• Goal is to “put ourselves out of work” by teaching skills
• Start Small (so small you can't help but succeed), but start
with a big vision.
•
Move forward with patience and perseverance.
•
If your garden isn't thriving, look to your community to find out why.
– Perhaps your model isn't applicable-each garden should be a reflection
of that community's interests and strengths, or
– Perhaps you haven't capitalized on your community's assets.
20. Words of Wisdom
About the Garden:
•
•
•
•
Curb appeal matters
Build benches near the plots
Build 2 to 3 smaller compost piles rather than one large one.
Invest labor in composting and using mulch to build 18-24”
high mounds during winter on your plots for weed control and
soil amendments.
• Use the “lasagna method” of soil building to make gardening
till free and weed removal much easier. (dumpster dive for
cardboard.)
21. Words of Wisdom
About Your Attitude:
•
•
•
•
Enjoy what you do! Gardening is great fun and rewarding!
Patience, Passion and Determination
Do not become discouraged, it gets easier
"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns or
rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." --Abraham Lincoln
• Water, Sun, Soil, Seeds or Harvest Yield: In gardening, nothing is
promised, it is always a gift, and we should be thankful that we are
privileged to participate in the cycle of nature.
26. NCCGP has done all the hard work
of forming as a 501(c)(3)
positioned for greatness
Editor's Notes
Blue Cross Blue Shield of NCCommunities of FaithIndividual HeroesNC A & T UniversityNC Cooperative ExtensionNC Department of Public HealthNC Recreation and Parks AssociationNC State UniversityNon-Profit Organizations
Add images
BriggsBuilding a Community network for sharing knowledge and support, developing diverse leadership, increasing civic engagement, getting folks from historically excluded populations to believe they are the change agents they have been waiting for. What are your current challenges? What do you need help with?Funding, finding academic leaders with vision & the knowledge to make those visions come true, understanding how structural oppression effects low income populations as it relates to food systems & how to overcome these structures. What words of wisdom would you like to share with other community gardeners?Water, Sun, Soil, Seeds or Harvest Yield: In gardening, nothing is promised, it is always a gift, and we should be thankful that we are privileged to participate in the cycle of nature.
he Dig In! Yancey Community Garden was created based on the belief that no Yancey County resident should go hungry. That's it, period.With an abundance of land and a remarkable wealth of agricultural knowledge, both traditional and new, it is inexcusable that our neighbors are hungry.Our greatest success is that we exist at all. We began with little more than a desire to feed people. Now, four growing seasons later, we are producing about 3000 pounds of organic vegetables annually. All of the produce is donated to local organizations feeding county residents. Our goal is to increase our production and to work with the community to end hunger in the county.Our website is www.diginyancey.orghttp://www.diginyancey.org/images/4H%20Green%20Team%20and%20Laura%20031712.jpghttp://www.diginyancey.org/images/U%20of%20Louisville%20students%20031312.jpg
What are your greatest accomplishments to date? Completing the first year of developing the soil and creating 48 5’X20’ plots. Creating a rainfall runoff plan for the significant amounts of nearby park drainage, broken hydrants on nearby streets, and rain our region had in early summer. A Girl Scout resident built two benches on the side of the garden for weary gardeners as part of her Gold Scout project. . What do you take the most pride in having accomplished through your community garden? Getting to know neighbors I live with through gardening projects at the plots. The garden members (13) are collaborating with our neighborhood grounds committee to recycle split rails and timbers from improvement projects in the neighborhood. Other neighbors, who are not gardeners, are donating old timbers from newly landscaped areas as well as unwanted garden tools and wheelbarrows. What are your current challenges? We are trying to be an organic community garden. What do you need help with? Is there a free reference list of organic products for pest control, disease control, amendments that are organic and build soil (Epsom salts, garden lime, boric acid, diatomaceous sand, ???)What words of wisdom would you like to share with other community gardeners? Build a couple of benches near the plots; they are great for breaks and encourage chatting about gardening. Build 2 to 3 smaller compost piles rather than one large one. We worked out of one large holding pen for leaves and it became “creepy” by the end of a year of composting...2 snakes, several mice, and the myriad insects might have been less intimidating if we had smaller piles. Don’t judge your future gardening challenges by the first year. Developing our plots will take several years and continuing labor to build beds above the water table level and to control weeds. Our first time gardeners were overwhelmed with labor it took to replant and move plants to higher ground as we learned the drainage challenges of our plots. Invest labor in composting and using mulch to build 18-24” high mounds during winter on your plots for weed control and soil amendments. Investigate the “lasagna method” of soil building to make gardening till free and weed removal much easier. (We have a 2 members who take a truck and dumpster dive for cardboard.)Images not from gardenhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Garden_tools.jpg/280px-Garden_tools.jpghttp://www.jacksonprofessional.com/uploads/images/True%20Temper/products/M6FFKB_L_01.JPG
Our greatest accomplishment to date. A. bringing together 20 total strangers and forming a healthy, friendly, caring, sharing family.B. Providing 1246 pounds of produce to the Interfaith Food Band our first year and we still have more to harvest.We take the greatest pride in he bring together the community and the tremendous support we have received from the community.Greatest challenge is funding. We are sustainable, but our growth depends upon grants and donations. To keep everyone interest at a high level we need to offer new and interesting dimensions to the garden. Adding bee keeping for example, having gardeners work with kids at schools, and anything else we can think, we can do. Help -- 8' BY 8' storage building Or building supplies , bee keeping supplies, berry plants, editable plantsWords of wisdom -- Have a core group you can depending on, form as many local partnerships as possible, town, county, chamber, churches, scouts, 4H,and always reach out to others and offer your support and adviseThanks, Gene RiddleGreene Community GardenSnow Hill
Challenges are how to keep people motivated during the hot summer month this posses problems in weed control, insects and even rodents when they are not coming out to harvest food. It all stems back to having good , well established leadership teams for the garden and where they are in place you don't see as much of this. Not everyone needs a community garden- we need to be careful about wanting something for others. This is not a case of build it and they will come. We need to provide lots of education so they can come to those decisions on their own. Build your team before the first things are planted. Strength does lie in numbers in this case.
Paul Buescher, Liberty Community GardenRaleigh/Wake CountyThe Liberty Community Garden has completed its third growing season. The garden members are primarily resettled refugees from Bhutan. We have been successful due to coordination by several volunteers, the daily work of the garden members, and a few key grants and donations to support garden expenses. Garden members share the produce and we have begun donations to the Interfaith Food Shuttle. An important factor in our success is having a dedicated and knowledgeable garden supervisor who lives near the garden. See picture of late summer harvesting.
What are your greatest accomplishments to date?The Little Sugar Creek Community garden's greatest accomplishment to date is the partnerships we have built, and that are withstanding. We have great partners in the County government system, such as Park and Recreation where day campers visit during the summer months to harvest and enjoy fresh produce and create a connection to the planet and each other. We work with the department of Social Services to help people with mental and behavioral challenges find comfort, often just from sitting in the soil. The County's correctional facilities rehab program from the inmates provides us with fresh and various seedlings during the growing season, and gives the inmates a sense of worth, knowing they are providing food for hundred of people across the county. We would with public and private schools year round, teaching the importance of composting, the need for native and beneficial plants and the creating the awareness of invasive species and their negative effects on our county's wildlife.We also have great partnerships with our volunteers who make all this happen. They work hard to keep the garden going and teaching all who come and visit. What do you take the most pride in having accomplished through your community garden?Growing mucadines and scuppernongsWhat are your current challenges?Our current challenges are educating people about community gardens. In Mecklenburg County, everyone wants a community garden in their backyard, or their schools. We invite them to visit and work in an established garden for a full year before making that commitment. It's fun and easy to play in the soil in April with the weather is nice and the weeds are at bay, but come back in July with our high heat, humidity and nut sedge that does not die and then see if you still have that excitement. We also want people to understand the importance and ease of composting, and that putting yard/garden waste in the trash can is illegal in North Carolina.We also encourage people to work with Environmental Health and Ag extension on preparing/serving safe food, and understand the laws around selling prepared food and whole produce and why these rules/laws exist. What do you need help with? a shedWhat words of wisdom would you like to share with other community gardeners? Enjoy what you do.Please send your answers to these questions and any images you would be willing for me to share, along with your name, the name of your community garden, and the town and county in which it is located.
Susan Sides - The Lord’s Acre What are your greatest accomplishments to date? What do you take the most pride in having accomplished through your community garden?1. Conducting a community survey that asked targeted groups as well as the general public, what THEY wanted.2. Starting a Share the Harvest market where the hope is that excess produce from everyone’s garden can be shared. Much more sharing goes on there than simply with produce. Unlike a tailgate market, people share their stories and their lives too.3. Building core beliefs from which to make decisions.4. (My board would say: growing and giving away 9.5 tons of organic food on just over ½ acre, a SPROUTS program for kids, working with a local college professors to integrate studies and the garden…. But they are secondary to 1-3) · What are your current challenges? What do you need help with? Funding. We have the talent and the drive and the produce. Fundraising takes too much time and is very difficult. To change that, communities need to understand the quantitative and qualitative worth of a “Garden in Community”. We are now without a well starting next year and we desperately need a walk in cooler (grant applied for ??) to hold part of the 9.5 tons of produce we grow each year. Broken, old refrigerators won’t do it any longer. · What words of wisdom would you like to share with other community gardeners?Build your soil and core values before anything else. Even if it takes a year. We are not a plot garden so this may not apply as deeply to all community gardens. But what you believe is what you’ll base your decisions upon. What you base your decisions upon will determine whether the garden brings people together or keeps them separated. All decisions we make must ultimately have the goal of bringing people together, giving them agency, inspiration and support.We tend to operate and make decisions based on:There are many types of hunger. Everyone is hungry for something. Everyone has something to give.And: Make each and every decision based on the concept of “putting ourselves out of work”. When everyone in a community can grow or share the growing of food and friendships with each other, gardens in community can turn into parks or whatever a community decides.
From: Brenda Chunn, PMMt. Vernon Community Garden3760 Woodleaf Barber Rd.Cleveland, NC 27013RE: Community Garden QuestionnaireWhat are your greatest accomplishments to date?• We started in 2011 with a vision and a blank landscape. We had to transportwater from home to water the garden. So our greatest accomplishment wasacquiring funds for a water pump and extending water lines to the raised beds andgarden site.• Now it is 2013, and we have a 532 sq. ft. dissemination center, two coveredshelters that will serve as outside classrooms for our MASOO program (Math,Agriculture Science, Options, and Opportunities). This afternoon and summerprogram is planned to be a pipeline for educational and career opportunities forour rural students. We are in conversation with West Rowan HS Agriculturedepartment and Rowan Cabarrus Community College on how to make thisprogram effective of parent and students k-12.What do you take the most pride in having accomplished through your communitygarden?• 2013 has brought the most pride, with the recent dedication service of the garden.It was filled with approximately 40 people from the church and community. Thereception included a low country boil and all items were donated by local farmers,local dentist, Norvant Congregational Ministries, Harris Teeter, Food Lion, AppleBaking Company, Carolina Beverage and other small businesses that support ourmission of providing “A Free Market for Health and Wellness”. Our gift bagswere filled with items for dental health and many visitors went home with sweetpotatoes, pumpkins, and fresh greens picked from our green patch.• Bill Godley, local landscaper and owner of garden center donated 25 assortedfruit trees to expand our edible landscape.What are your current challenges?• We are developing 25 acres, which will include walking trails and we have quite alarge area to keep mowed for curb appeal. Our volunteer’s tractor does not haveall the peripheral equipment needed to mow and grade at the site. We do not havea budget to purchase the required equipment or to pay someone to maintain andcarve out and fashion the walking paths. My husband currently uses our largezero turn lawn mower; however it is a long day on it and our volunteer’s mowerhas one blade and leaves ridges that have to be cut down with the zero turnmower.What do you need help with?• Grant opportunities and contacts that would allow for the purchase of equipment• Grant opportunities and contacts that would allow for a team of people to come inand carve out the walking trailWhat words of wisdom would you like to share with other community gardeners?• Do not become discouraged. Daryl Blackwelder, local NC Extension Agent,advised us to start small and interest in the project would grow. First, we had toconvince people that the food was free, no strings attached. No one could see ourvision on the blank landscape and now we have curb appeal as well as a bounty inthe garden after water and not to mention the great water the weather providedthis year. Actually, our tomatoes had too much water.https://www.facebook.com/MtVernonCommunityGarden
SEEDS has contributed to the community garden movement since 1994 when we became incorporated and received our 501 C3. It hasbeen wonderful to see life changes in our staff and gardeners. They live more sustainably and share whatthey have learned with others. They know about agri-business, GMO's, seed saving, composting, permaculture,....the list goes onPatience, passion, and determination are key.
Fairview Plantation – Union CountyWe are trying to be an organic community garden. What do you need help with? Is there a free reference list of organic products for pest control, disease control, amendments that are organic and build soil (Epsom salts, garden lime, boric acid, diatomaceous sand, ???)The Lord’s AcreFunding. We have the talent and the drive and the produce. Fundraising takes too much time and is very difficult. To change that, communities need to understand the quantitative and qualitative worth of a “Garden in Community”. We are now without a well starting next year and we desperately need a walk in cooler (grant applied for ??) to hold part of the 9.5 tons of produce we grow each year. Broken, old refrigerators won’t do it any longer.Mecklenburg – Nadine FordOur current challenges are educating people about community gardens. In Mecklenburg County, everyone wants a community garden in their backyard, or their schools. We invite them to visit and work in an established garden for a full year before making that commitment. It's fun and easy to play in the soil in April with the weather is nice and the weeds are at bay, but come back in July with our high heat, humidity and nut sedge that does not die and then see if you still have that excitement. We also want people to understand the importance and ease of composting, and that putting yard/garden waste in the trash can is illegal in North Carolina.We also encourage people to work with Environmental Health and Ag extension on preparing/serving safe food, and understand the laws around selling prepared food and whole produce and why these rules/laws exist.BriggsFunding, finding academic leaders with vision & the knowledge to make those visions come true, understanding how structural oppression effects low income populations as it relates to food systems & how to overcome these structures. Guilford – Karen NeillChallenges are how to keep people motivated during the hot summer month this posses problems in weed control, insects and even rodents when they are not coming out to harvest food. It all stems back to having good , well established leadership teams for the garden and where they are in place you don't see as much of this.GreeneGreatest challenge is funding. We are sustainable, but our growth depends upon grants and donations. To keep everyone interest at a high level we need to offer new and interesting dimensions to the garden. Adding bee keeping for example, having gardeners work with kids at schools, and anything else we can think, we can do.RowanWhat are your current challenges?• We are developing 25 acres, which will include walking trails and we have quite alarge area to keep mowed for curb appeal. Our volunteer’s tractor does not haveall the peripheral equipment needed to mow and grade at the site. We do not havea budget to purchase the required equipment or to pay someone to maintain andcarve out and fashion the walking paths. My husband currently uses our largezero turn lawn mower; however it is a long day on it and our volunteer’s mowerhas one blade and leaves ridges that have to be cut down with the zero turnmower.What do you need help with?• Grant opportunities and contacts that would allow for the purchase of equipment• Grant opportunities and contacts that would allow for a team of people to come inand carve out the walking trailScotlandMy current challenges include the establishment of effective teams and procurement of a secure building on site in which to store our equipment.
Mecklenburg - Shed – Cleveland• Grant opportunities and contacts that would allow for the purchase of equipment• Grant opportunities and contacts that would allow for a team of people to come inand carve out the walking trailScotlandprocurement of a secure building on site in which to store our equipment. I feel I need the most help with helping the gardeners assume their positions/roles in the garden teams.
Lord’s AcreBuild your soil and core values before anything else. Even if it takes a year. We are not a plot garden so this may not apply as deeply to all community gardens. But what you believe is what you’ll base your decisions upon. What you base your decisions upon will determine whether the garden brings people together or keeps them separated. All decisions we make must ultimately have the goal of bringing people together, giving them agency, inspiration and support.We tend to operate and make decisions based on:There are many types of hunger. Everyone is hungry for something. Everyone has something to give.And: Make each and every decision based on the concept of “putting ourselves out of work”. When everyone in a community can grow or share the growing of food and friendships with each other, gardens in community can turn into parks or whatever a community decides.Enjoy what you do Mecklenburg, NadineStart small (so small you can't help but succeed), but start with a big vision. Allow yourself to move towards it with patience and perseverance. If your garden isn't thriving, look to your community to find out why. Perhaps your model isn't applicable--each garden is a reflection of that community's interests and strengths--or perhaps you haven't capitalized on your community's assets. Black Mountain, Diana McCallBrenda Brodie - Patience, Passion and DeterminationBriggs - Water, Sun, Soil, Seeds or Harvest Yield: In gardening, nothing is promised, it is always a gift, and we should be thankful that we are privileged to participate in the cycle of nature.Karen Neill - Not everyone needs a community garden- we need to be careful about wanting something for others. This is not a case of build it and they will come. We need to provide lots of education so they can come to those decisions on their own. Build your team before the first things are planted. Strength does lie in numbers in this case.Mt Vernon - Do not become discouraged. Daryl Blackwelder, local NC Extension Agent,advised us to start small and interest in the project would grow. First, we had toconvince people that the food was free, no strings attached. No one could see ourvision on the blank landscape and now we have curb appeal as well as a bounty inthe garden after water and not to mention the great water the weather providedthis year. Actually, our tomatoes had too much water.ScotlandIt is great fun that is challenging and rewarding, but with anything in life, patience and a positive attitude go a long way. "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." --Abraham Lincoln
Lord’s AcreBuild your soil and core values before anything else. Even if it takes a year. We are not a plot garden so this may not apply as deeply to all community gardens. But what you believe is what you’ll base your decisions upon. What you base your decisions upon will determine whether the garden brings people together or keeps them separated. All decisions we make must ultimately have the goal of bringing people together, giving them agency, inspiration and support.We tend to operate and make decisions based on:There are many types of hunger. Everyone is hungry for something. Everyone has something to give.And: Make each and every decision based on the concept of “putting ourselves out of work”. When everyone in a community can grow or share the growing of food and friendships with each other, gardens in community can turn into parks or whatever a community decides.Enjoy what you do Mecklenburg, NadineStart small (so small you can't help but succeed), but start with a big vision. Allow yourself to move towards it with patience and perseverance. If your garden isn't thriving, look to your community to find out why. Perhaps your model isn't applicable--each garden is a reflection of that community's interests and strengths--or perhaps you haven't capitalized on your community's assets. Black Mountain, Diana McCallBrenda Brodie - Patience, Passion and DeterminationBriggs - Water, Sun, Soil, Seeds or Harvest Yield: In gardening, nothing is promised, it is always a gift, and we should be thankful that we are privileged to participate in the cycle of nature.Karen Neill - Not everyone needs a community garden- we need to be careful about wanting something for others. This is not a case of build it and they will come. We need to provide lots of education so they can come to those decisions on their own. Build your team before the first things are planted. Strength does lie in numbers in this case.Mt Vernon - Do not become discouraged. Daryl Blackwelder, local NC Extension Agent,advised us to start small and interest in the project would grow. First, we had toconvince people that the food was free, no strings attached. No one could see ourvision on the blank landscape and now we have curb appeal as well as a bounty inthe garden after water and not to mention the great water the weather providedthis year. Actually, our tomatoes had too much water.ScotlandIt is great fun that is challenging and rewarding, but with anything in life, patience and a positive attitude go a long way. "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." --Abraham Lincoln
Lord’s AcreBuild your soil and core values before anything else. Even if it takes a year. We are not a plot garden so this may not apply as deeply to all community gardens. But what you believe is what you’ll base your decisions upon. What you base your decisions upon will determine whether the garden brings people together or keeps them separated. All decisions we make must ultimately have the goal of bringing people together, giving them agency, inspiration and support.We tend to operate and make decisions based on:There are many types of hunger. Everyone is hungry for something. Everyone has something to give.And: Make each and every decision based on the concept of “putting ourselves out of work”. When everyone in a community can grow or share the growing of food and friendships with each other, gardens in community can turn into parks or whatever a community decides.Enjoy what you do Mecklenburg, NadineStart small (so small you can't help but succeed), but start with a big vision. Allow yourself to move towards it with patience and perseverance. If your garden isn't thriving, look to your community to find out why. Perhaps your model isn't applicable--each garden is a reflection of that community's interests and strengths--or perhaps you haven't capitalized on your community's assets. Black Mountain, Diana McCallBrenda Brodie - Patience, Passion and DeterminationBriggs - Water, Sun, Soil, Seeds or Harvest Yield: In gardening, nothing is promised, it is always a gift, and we should be thankful that we are privileged to participate in the cycle of nature.Karen Neill - Not everyone needs a community garden- we need to be careful about wanting something for others. This is not a case of build it and they will come. We need to provide lots of education so they can come to those decisions on their own. Build your team before the first things are planted. Strength does lie in numbers in this case.Mt Vernon - Do not become discouraged. Daryl Blackwelder, local NC Extension Agent,advised us to start small and interest in the project would grow. First, we had toconvince people that the food was free, no strings attached. No one could see ourvision on the blank landscape and now we have curb appeal as well as a bounty inthe garden after water and not to mention the great water the weather providedthis year. Actually, our tomatoes had too much water.ScotlandIt is great fun that is challenging and rewarding, but with anything in life, patience and a positive attitude go a long way. "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." --Abraham Lincoln
Lord’s AcreBuild your soil and core values before anything else. Even if it takes a year. We are not a plot garden so this may not apply as deeply to all community gardens. But what you believe is what you’ll base your decisions upon. What you base your decisions upon will determine whether the garden brings people together or keeps them separated. All decisions we make must ultimately have the goal of bringing people together, giving them agency, inspiration and support.We tend to operate and make decisions based on:There are many types of hunger. Everyone is hungry for something. Everyone has something to give.And: Make each and every decision based on the concept of “putting ourselves out of work”. When everyone in a community can grow or share the growing of food and friendships with each other, gardens in community can turn into parks or whatever a community decides.Enjoy what you do Mecklenburg, NadineStart small (so small you can't help but succeed), but start with a big vision. Allow yourself to move towards it with patience and perseverance. If your garden isn't thriving, look to your community to find out why. Perhaps your model isn't applicable--each garden is a reflection of that community's interests and strengths--or perhaps you haven't capitalized on your community's assets. Black Mountain, Diana McCallBrenda Brodie - Patience, Passion and DeterminationBriggs - Water, Sun, Soil, Seeds or Harvest Yield: In gardening, nothing is promised, it is always a gift, and we should be thankful that we are privileged to participate in the cycle of nature.Karen Neill - Not everyone needs a community garden- we need to be careful about wanting something for others. This is not a case of build it and they will come. We need to provide lots of education so they can come to those decisions on their own. Build your team before the first things are planted. Strength does lie in numbers in this case.Mt Vernon - Do not become discouraged. Daryl Blackwelder, local NC Extension Agent,advised us to start small and interest in the project would grow. First, we had toconvince people that the food was free, no strings attached. No one could see ourvision on the blank landscape and now we have curb appeal as well as a bounty inthe garden after water and not to mention the great water the weather providedthis year. Actually, our tomatoes had too much water.ScotlandIt is great fun that is challenging and rewarding, but with anything in life, patience and a positive attitude go a long way. "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." --Abraham Lincoln
Thank you! Vision, Commitment, Hard Work, Creativity
