Community Gardens . . . a seriously cool project
So what do you do if you live somewhere that you literally don’t have space to plant a garden? Like – you don’t have soil. At all. If you live in an Urban area, this might be your situation.
So where, exactly, are you supposed to put plants? There are only so many places you can put a pot in your apartment, for crying out loud!!! Well, entrèe the community garden.
What is a community garden? Well, it’s basically a single piece of land gardened collectively by a group of people. You usually see them in more urban areas, because in a more rural area, people just garden their own land. There are some massive benefits to community gardens, above and beyond fresh produce (which is a huge benefit if the garden happens to be in a low-income area). Fresh produce is usually expensive for those on a budget, so it’s nice to be able to grow your own food. Not to mention we know how much more nutritious food is when it’s home-grown.
Community gardens also foster a sense of . . . well . . . community. In a world where people are more and more distant in person and more involved online, this is a pretty valuable trait all on its’ own. There are some really cool community gardens around the country, one of which is Growing Power.Will Allen, author of “The Good Food Revolution”, started Growing Power in 1993 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He offers teens a chance to work to grow their own food in an urban area, an area where many kids don’t even know what a tomato is supposed to taste like, if you can imagine that. Their website (linked above) is a wealth of information, and very cool to check out.
There are also grants to help you get started and to maintain a community garden if you are interested. Here is a link I found while perusing the vast internet: http://growingsafergardens.com/grants/. Some pretty great information, including links to get you applications on some of them.
So, if you don’t have the ability to grow a garden in your yard (because you don’t have one), you should check out your local community garden, if there is one. If there isn’t, start one!!!
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