Creating & Sustaining Community Gardens

The plentiful bounty that can come from a community garden in your neighborhood doesn’t just refer to the food that will be harvested, but to the bonds that are formed and the barriers that will be dissolved. “Community gardens can be so vital to the health of a community,” says Pat Munts, community gardens coordinator for the Spokane Regional Health District’s Health Communities Project. “They grow food and in the process, they grow communities.” Munts recently presented “Creating and Sustaining Community Gardens” at the Bioneers workshop. Using the American Community Gardens methodologies, she walked participants, with and without gardening experience, through the different steps important to realizing the goal of establishing their own community gardens, including: developing a community of people to work on, in and around the garden, picking a site, designing the garden, acquiring water and other physical resources, establishing a governing committee, and funding sources. Munts, also the small farms coordinator for WSU Spokane County Extension, brings 40 year’s experience of vegetable gardening, and a solid track record of establishing a number of gardens in the Spokane area. She is also is a freelance writer and editor specializing in gardening, as well as Inland Northwest history, for Master Gardener and The Spokesman-Review. Currently, Spokane has a dozen community gardens in all corners of Spokane and the surrounding country, six of them springing up since this project began two years ago. From Brown’s Mountain to Mead, people have brought neighborhoods together with the simple idea of growing fruit and vegetables. Many of them however, are limited to the neighborhoods they are established in. Munts would like to see more of them open to the public – this will be her focus in the year to come. The Health Communities Project is funded by a five-year grant from the Center for Disease Control and the State Department of Health, and actually encompasses four individual projects focused on increasing physical activity and access to good nutrition. Initially, the focus of the community gardens portion of the grant was on the low socio-economic neighborhoods of Hillyard and Underhill, two communities struggling for a more cohesive, safer environment. Although the grant has now expanded to include all of Spokane, these two areas remain at the top of the list. Munts hopes with help from the City of Spokane, the project will hopefully come together next spring. Her ultimate goal in is to establish community gardens in every neighborhood throughout Spokane. “There is not a neighborhood that wouldn’t benefit from a community garden,” said Munts. “They not only increase physical activity and give people access to healthy, nutritious food but they get neighbors to interact and form relationships which in turn make our neighborhoods safer; they add beauty to our neighborhoods and heighten awareness and appreciation for living things; and they can increase property value in low-income neighborhoods.” It has been shown that property value in low-income neighborhoods, where community gardens have been established, has increased several thousand dollars within five years. It has also been shown that when problematic groups within a neighborhood, like gangs, are approached to take part in a community garden, they may surprise organizers and become positive contributing members of the community due to the feeling of belonging to something. There are many ways to start a community garden, maybe within your neighborhood, school, friend groups or a local organization. The following guidelines, as outlined by the American Community Garden Association, and elaborated on by Munts, can guide you through the process. 1) Gather Neighbors and Community Members: Choose a well-organized coordinator/master gardener. Form committees. Consider aligning with an existing 501(c)3. Decide on a name, budget and administration. 2) Find a Site: Identify the owner of the property. Do you need a lease agreement? A site should be relatively flat and get at least 6 hours of sun each day. Consider water availability. Best to install taps so each individual is responsible for their own water. Do a soil test for contaminants and fertility. Determine how people will access site. Close proximity to a bus stop is good. 3) Create and Build: Clean the site. Develop a design. Orient beds north to south to get maximum exposure to sun for entire garden. Gather your resources. Organize work crews. How large should plots be? Plan for a storage and compost area. Raised beds are good for people with mobility issues. 4) Create the Gardening Community: Are there conditions for membership? Are there dues? Regular meetings? Will gardeners share tools? Establish “Lack of Use” policy—what will happen if a bed is neglected? 5) Insurance: Try finding an agent who has worked with social agencies in the area before. 6) Managing Your Garden: What are short and long-term objectives? How are decisions to be made? How will work be shared? Who does what? How will you raise money? Do you want to be incorporated, be a club, or create a non-profit? 7) Vandalism: Fencing is the best way to alleviate this problem. How will it be handled when it happens? 8) Funding: Have your budget and mission statement ready when approaching local businesses, churches, community organizations and neighborhood councils. Sell them on this “great idea” rather than just asking for money. Seek out in-kind services and labor. Seek out large charitable foundations from large companies that award grants, especially if you are connected to a 501(c)3. Budget for scholarships for those that can’t afford their own plot.