2024 Community Gardens Check In
This year I have been conducting a deeper check-in than we have in the past, in part to develop a deeper understanding of where the community gardens that became a part of our network in 2020-2022 are at.
By Mary K - Co-Founder of TVCGCoop
Survey - Participating Gardens - Overview
In the community gardens I’ve been able to connect with so far, the findings have included the reality that we have some gardens that are still going strong, and at least 3 that have not continued for the past 1-2 seasons, in some cases due to not having a garden manager, or, enough interested gardeners in the community to utilize the space the landowner made available for this.
If you are managing a garden, or are part of one, and would like to add your voice, please weigh in here!
Garden champions include different folks, it could be the volunteer who commits to a garden that’s serving a particular part of the community, it could be part of their ministry of service at a church, or working with the City of Boise or Meridian to manage a community space that serves the public or provides a space for our Resettling Refugee community to grow foods they know and utilize, together.
In all cases shared space gardens are groups of people who grow friendships and connections while learning together. Solace and support are also being cultivated — a shared sense of well-being and some sense of security. Gardens form around available spaces, shared desires, contagious enthusiasm, and successes we build on year after year. Some folks started gardening on their balconies, patios, and out of their kitchens. They found that there wasn’t enough space, so they ventured into the community gardens to find more room to try growing their favorite plants, and some they just couldn’t wait to try out in-ground!
Several garden managers of the community gardens in the area were very receptive to the idea of partnering with nearby schools that may or may not have gardens. Some of the discussions happening in the school garden spaces include finding ways to collaborate because the benefits are SO numerous!
One of the questions presented in this survey is about whether or not a stipend for garden management would make a difference. The reason this is being asked is because several individuals have a passion for growing food access, for community members of all ages, and would commit the time to garden management if they were also able to offer something to their families and household needs in exchange for the time involved.
The survey is set up so that those interested in (or learning more about) a garden stipend can weigh in on what garden management responsibilities should include. In this way, we can efficiently determine some accountability around this.
To be transparent, there is not a designated source of funding for such a stipend determined yet. However, we’re on the lookout for opportunities for ways to generate this income that doesn’t conflict with the sources of income gardens already rely on for basic annual needs. Some possibilities are afoot, some grants are being explored, and some partnerships could be formed to meet multiple goals!
I would love to hear some ideas and invite anyone with time and motivation to assist in cultivating more of these.