Start a Community Garden
A community garden is a single piece of land gardened collectively by a group of people.
Community gardens provide fresh produce and plants as well as satisfying labor, exercise, neighborhood improvement, sense of community and connection to the environment. A community garden can be as diverse as its gardeners: some grow only flowers, some have individual plots for personal use while others are nurtured communally and their produce shared.
Community gardens allow citizens to grow their own food or donate what they have grown for others to enjoy. Locally grown food decreases a community's reliance on fossil fuels for transporting food from large agricultural areas and used to run agricultural machinery.
Community gardens improve users’ health with increased fresh vegetable consumption and serves as a form of exercise. They also bring gardeners in touch with the source of their food and create a social community – benefits not easily achieved in urban settings. Community gardens provide other social benefits too, such as sharing knowledge about food production, and often a decrease in crime and vandalism.
Benefits of community gardens include:
Preserves green space
Beautifies neighborhoods
Produces nutritious food
Reduces family food budgets
Conserves resources
Creates opportunity for recreation, exercise, therapy, and education
Improves the quality of life for people in the garden
Provides inspiration for neighborhood and community development
Stimulates social interaction
Encourages self-reliance
Reduces crime
Creates income opportunities and economic development
Reduces city heat from streets and parking lots
Provides opportunities for intergenerational and cross-cultural connections
Learn how to obtain water service to get a garden started in your community and the potential cost that may be incurred.