Down to Earth Community Garden

Our mission is to help improve the health and sustainability of our community through a community garden open to the public. To accomplish our mission, the garden will serve as a place where people can garden and learn within a community of people.

By April 2014:

1. Raise $5,000
2. Fill rental plots with gardeners
3. Plan and schedule Green Kids Gardening Club
4. Plan adult workshop schedule, and coordinate volunteer workshop facilitators
5. Coordinate volunteer groups to volunteer throughout the growing season

April 2014: Install the garden

April through October: Facilitate workshops, supervise volunteer groups, and work with gardeners throughout the growing season.

2015: Repeat!

In a city where 62.8% of the individuals are overweight and 28% are obese, where organic is something found in a small section of the grocery store for prices that make us choose organic for only the “Dirty Dozen”, and where just 7% of the city’s population attends the weekly farmer’s market, we need a change in food culture. This would not only increase our health and wellness, but the sustainability of our lives as well. 8% of the CO2 emissions that are produced by our nation are from agriculture, not including the emissions caused by the long distance food miles on every bite we consume.

Our mission is to create a place where people can get active and learn to eat healthier. This includes a holistic approach to food. Not just how many calories and nutrients a tomato contains, but what was the quality of the soil where it grew, what chemicals were used in its life before it was picked, and from how far away did it come?  As people taste the difference in a sun-ripened tomato or an heirloom cucumber, conversations can be started to help explain the benefits of local, sustainable food production, thus affecting our overall health and the health of our local economy and environment.