What can you do if you don't have space to garden yourself? Or, what if you love to garden so much you have extra energy and supplies to share? Community Garden, of course!
Community gardens are lands gardened by a group of people rather than a single owner. Some gardens have multiple plots given to individuals for their own harvest. Others have one large plan where the work and harvest are shared. Still others are sown and tended simply to beautify a neighborhood.
Whatever their organization, community gardens benefit the land and people in so many ways: growing healthy food, beautifying and preserving green space, providing recreation and intergenerational gathering spaces, and conserving resources.
The American Community Gardening Association has an extensive database of resources and community garden locations.
In my own neck of the woods (central Ohio), the ACGA lists 117 gardens! I see them as I cycle around the city and am hopeful we will have a garden at the school under construction down our street soon.
One interesting community garden underway is the Three Sisters Garden at Brookside Elementary in Worthington Ohio. They have a beautiful design in the shape of a turtle shell that includes Native American historical planting techniques and a seasonal calendar sculpture. Students, teachers, and community volunteers provide the labor and donations provide the supplies. What a wonderful example of working together! I can't wait to see the garden as it progresses.
My own garden keeps me busy enough that I am not a regular volunteer at a community garden. Yet. I know there will be a time soon when I can devote my attention to one of the many group gardens nearby. Do you work in a community garden?