Four years ago, a group of us started five community gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio. The largest was a one acre plot that we entitled, "The UC Urban Farm!" Sponsored with funding from the University of Cincinnati, and (loved and) cared for by UC students, staff, and faculty our 'farm' has continued to thrive. This year, the summer of 2012, marks a landmark for me. Another team, working in Rolla, Missouri created the Rolla Community Garden. Again, we have about one acre. What's improved dramatically is the diversity of our team. Rather than spread our resources to create five gardens as we did in Cincinnati, the RCG is a joint effort of the City of Rolla, two Universities, and numerous local organizations. The benefit of this approach is that we have not only created a local garden within a community, but we have also created a local garden that is maintained by the community. We have approximately 50 small plots (10 ft x 15 ft), and each plot is used by a different individual. While this has been one of the hottest and driest summers in years... we still managed to have a successful first year. Details about the RCG and the great work of this diverse team can be followed on the Facebook page (
@rollagarden) or on the Wordpress blog (
http://rollagarden.wordpress.com/).
Four years ago, a group of us started five community gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio. The largest was a one acre plot that we entitled, "The UC Urban Farm!" Sponsored with funding from the University of Cincinnati, and (loved and) cared for by UC students, staff, and faculty our 'farm' has continued to thrive. This year, the summer of 2012, marks a landmark for me. Another team, working in Rolla, Missouri created the Rolla Community Garden. Again, we have about one acre. What's improved dramatically is the diversity of our team. Rather than spread our resources to create five gardens as we did in Cincinnati, the RCG is a joint effort of the City of Rolla, two Universities, and numerous local organizations. The benefit of this approach is that we have not only created a local garden within a community, but we have also created a local garden that is maintained by the community. We have approximately 50 small plots (10 ft x 15 ft), and each plot is used by a different individual. While this has been one of the hottest and driest summers in years... we still managed to have a successful first year. Details about the RCG and the great work of this diverse team can be followed on the Facebook page (@rollagarden) or on the Wordpress blog (http://rollagarden.wordpress.com/).