2009 Grant Recipients

Fiskars has awarded 20 community gardens, within the U.S. and Canada, with a Fiskars Project Orange Thumb grant. All of this years' applicants had promising initiatives making the selection process a challenge. Recipients will be blogging throughout the growing season so check back to see what’s going on in their gardens. Keep reading for more information on all 2009 grant recipients and see the fun creative pieces each have submitted.

The creative part of the application is in response to this challenge:

In an inter-galactic exchange program, an alien is sent to Earth to learn of our ways. The United Nations chooses you to explain how gardening makes you feel. Express it non-verbally because, of course, he doesn't speak your language.

Anna Smith Children’s Park

Silverdale, Washington

In 1985, the park property was bequeathed to the county by J.A. & Anna Smith with the stipulation that the park be for children. The group’s goal is to expand the 'Garden as a Classroom' concept at the Anna Smith Children’s Park in order to better inspire youngsters to become future garden stewards. The WSU Kitsap Extension Master Gardeners (MG's) maintain a Demonstration Garden which includes a Children's section, a Shade garden and a Native Trail within the park. They plan to provide weekly educational hands-on events during the summer for children emphasizing sustainability and the life-cycle. They also plan on upgrading and expanding the educational signage in the gardens to provide child-friendly information on weather-resistant materials. Attendance at our events will trigger children's curiosity, and enable them to understand interrelationships between humans and their habitat. Respect for nature will increase. For many of the youngsters who visit, time spent with a Master Gardener, many of whom are grandparents, is a special time.

Ark Gardens

Laramie, Wyoming

Ark Gardens work with adults and children with developmental disabilities. The raised beds at the Ark Residential housing will be cared for by residents as well as local Master Gardeners. Through this project, the residents will participate in mini workshops learning how a seed grows, the importance of water and the care of the plants. Residents will be able to cut flowers and harvest vegetables. The local 4-H chapter will participate by lending a hand in the care of the raised beds. This creates an opportunity for the residents and children of this small community to teach each other about cultural diversity and tolerance. The lesson that garden participants will learn goes far beyond gardening.

Butterfly and Pollinators Native Plant Garden

Atlanta, Georgia

The West Atlanta Watershed Alliance is working with volunteers to restore life into a forgotten garden. The garden site will be near the communities Outdoor Activity Center (OAC) and will be the home to many native plant species that will provide a habitat, food and nectar for caterpillars and butterflies. This is one garden on the 26-acre urban nature preserve that exists in this area. The mission of the Watershed Alliance and the OAC is to involve children and adults in environmental issues through education about conservation, ecology and the natural environment. This garden will play an integral role in the environmental experiential after school program for the youth of Southwest Atlanta. Through journaling, drawing, environmentally based art projects and other related stewardship and gardening activities they will occur.

Cogami

Mayne Island, British Columbia

The Cogami garden will be located on a five acre plot of land in the Mayne Island community on their rural island. Previously the garden was maintained and developed through self ownership but this has now changed and moving forward the Cogami garden will be a communal effort to build and maintain. They plan to nearly double their garden plots this growing season and have at least an 8 hour commitment level from each participant. They plan to publish a monthly article in a local newspaper to inform the community of what is going on in the garden. This year’s goal is to educate and reach out to the larger community in an effort to provide the opportunity for others to experience the satisfaction of growing local, organic produce. They will reach their goals through private development, group formation and community outreach.

Dunham School Garden

Petaluma, California

The Dunham School Garden's mission is to promote environmental awareness and healthy living by creating a living, active, sustainable, green and organic classroom. They will build environmentally conscious construction projects; to provide students with the opportunity to discover entomology, plant identification and biology; to stimulate creative artwork in nature journals and field guides; to learn landscape design in order to enhance the natural world around them; and to grow healthy organic foods. They will plant fruit bearing trees to provide seasonal fruit and raising vegetables to supplement school lunches for students. The group intends to distribute any surplus fruit and vegetables to local food banks and community harvest organizations that pick excess crops and distribute them to the needy.

East Wheeling Community Garden

Wheeling, West Virginia

East Wheeling is a very diverse community. The East Wheeling Community Garden volunteers and gardeners reflect this diversity. The goal of East Wheeling Community Garden is to have adult community-members work in partnership with a local chapel to implement a garden education program. They plan to build raised beds in what is currently a vacant lot taken care of by students of the chapel. Younger students will take part in basic gardening lessons while the older students will play a large role in the developing and implementation of the garden design and schedules. As a group they hope to contribute fresh, healthy food to the chapel’s meal program and the neighboring Catholic Charities soup kitchen. Through all of these steps the garden coordinators hope each student, young and old, will walk away with a better understanding of the food chain and a sense of accomplishment. Most importantly this group of individuals feels that this sharing of knowledge and history is invaluable to the development of strong relationships, sense of place, and sense of community.

Fiskars Garden Park

Mountain Home, Arkansas

Together with the Baxter County Master Gardeners the Mountain Home Parks and Recreation has created a plan for the transformation of the current narrow scope of garden maintenance into a wider variation of gardening to include more community gardeners and the opportunity for youth to participate. At the Fiskars Garden Park they stress the importance of agriculture. They plan to educate on the importance of modern day agriculture in today’s society while incorporating more traditional methods as well. In order to do this they will be making knowledgeable staff and educators available. The goal of the park is to teach a broader aspect of the gardening experience and learn a different appreciation of the crops that are harvested. By making these changes this group plans on seeing a steady increase in participation of the program.

Growing Together - Seniors in the Sun

New Market, Ontario

The Growing Together-Seniors in the Sun garden offers many individuals with the chance to access outdoor green space and improve the diets of community members, by providing locally grown produce. Currently managed by volunteers from the Lake Simcoe South Master Gardeners (LSSMG) group and nearby church, they plan to further the development of the community garden. The LSSMG developed a plan for growth that calls for additional raised beds, increased community awareness and a children’s gardening program. The youth within the community will be invited to participate in a gardening program that has been designed to introduce them to gardening while providing fresh produce for the local food bank. The Master Gardeners will offer advice and clinics throughout the growing season to ensure success.

Hatchery Brook Community Gardens

Berlin, Connecticut

Hatchery Brook Community Garden knows that the benefits of a community garden go beyond beautifying a neighborhood; it also has social, educational, recreational, economical, and environmental impacts on the community. Their community garden project will bring people together, promote healthy and active lifestyles, provide an "outdoor classroom" for children and youth, reduce family food budgets, and transform an open space into a lush, green, productive, and edible garden. Hatchery Brook Community Garden feels their garden is more than a place for sharing land, water and sunlight; it can be an outdoor classroom, a place to relax, exercise and enjoy the fresh air. They plan to grow their produce locally so they do not have to purchase items shipped from across the country and in doing so they will be helping to restore oxygen and reduce air pollution.

HOPE Garden

Toronto, Ontario

The HOPE Garden has been put together by Greenest City. Greenest City works to encourage diverse communities to green Toronto. Through the work of over 250 volunteers the HOPE Garden is focusing on making the Parkdale neighborhood more food secure. The garden will be located in a previously neglected urban park. Plots within the garden are assigned to different community organizations and each group decides what will be planted. Opportunities will be made available in the garden to accommodate all types of people. Beyond gardening there will be workshops on organic gardening, leadership, skills training and cooking. There will also be many special community events held within the garden throughout the growing season.

Jubilee Park Community Garden

Dallas, TX

The Jubilee Park Community Garden will instill a sense of ownership while providing education and food, joining the community together. Jubilee's hopes are to see some of those who undertook previous leadership roles during their workshops, again step up to lead in future garden projects. They also hope to see new members of the community become involved and become community leaders as well. Jubilee staff, volunteers, and benefactors will support this project, but its success will belong to the community and those who take responsibility and work to see it succeed. They plan to give food to senior citizens, donate a portion to the food bank and allow for community members to pick items up from the garden for home use.

Kai o te aro

Te Aro Community Centre, Wellington, NZ

Charles and his friends aim to develop a thriving network of small community garden sites throughout the Te Aro community, which will be supported by a model urban garden at the Te Aro Community centre. The group of gardeners is made up of professional horticulturists and beginner gardeners. Working bees are planned on a monthly basis and to date; they have built gardens and earth ovens at each others houses. Additional goals include establishing a produce market and food co-op.

Kimberly College Garden Market Initiative

Kimberly College, Carbrook, Queensland

Participants plan to build organic vegetable gardens that will encourage students to recognize how critical it is to grow food based on practices that minimize our society’s ecological footprint. Kimberley College will be working with local community groups achieve their goal. An old house on the school grounds will also be converted into a canteen where food technology students can use vegetables grown on the school grounds in addition to locally sourced produce when preparing meals. The garden will also provide food for the families of the students by working towards establishing a weekly student-run Garden Market in which parents and the rest of the community can come and buy produce grown by the students.

Kitchen Garden

 

South Coast Christian College, Wonthaggi, Victoria

The school plans to build a kitchen garden which will be constructed for the purpose of integrated learning. The students plan to grow fruit, vegetables, herbs and raise chickens! The garden is in its early stages of development and the students have already began growing potatoes in the allocated space. Further plans include growing wider varieties of edible plants and building garden sculptures in art classes.
school website

Mindful Living Garden

Chicago, Illinois

A group of local youth and community members came together in the Logan Square neighborhood and expressed an eagerness to participate in a summer program and so the Mindful Living Garden began. This project will provide individuals with the opportunity to learn about healthy living, environmental sustainability and community development. The goal of the garden is to have its participants emerge informed and educated on how to start a community project, recruit support, organize community partnerships and much more. This initiative encourages participants to invest as individuals and collectively as a group to accomplish goals. Their garden will include raised beds containing herbs and many types of vegetables.

Montrose Community Garden

Montrose, South Dakota

The Montrose Community Garden method is good, hard work mixed in with a lot of run and community togetherness. Through their community garden they will improve the appearance of Montrose and encourage growth. They plan to promote community spirit objectives and provide greater opportunities for Montrose area residents. This year they plan to expand their garden and increase vegetable growth. Current community garden members will seek out new volunteers for planting and weeding. The group plans to host several community education classes on topics such as canning, preserving, and growing vegetables within the near future. Some of the other projects and goals for their community include: completing a bike and walking trail in city limits, finishing landscaping projects, continuing a city-wide clean up day, promoting the community garden and farmers market.

Preschool Play Garden

Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Preschool Play Garden will be located at the City of Lakes Waldorf School. At the Waldorf School they feel a child’s relationship with nature is cultivated through an emphasis on direct experience with and observation of the natural world. As a result, students in the schools Early Childhood program spend considerably more time outside than in most school environments. The envisioned garden is a part of the redesign of their preschool outdoor play area. It will incorporate native perennial grasses, flowers, and raised beds for vegetable gardening. In the garden children will be able to interact directly with the plants and animals of the garden. With this in mind plants have been selected for their sensory qualities. This garden will also enhance and beautify a highly trafficked corner of our neighborhood.

Richard T. Bowers Historic Tree Grove

Tampa, Florida

Richard T. Bowers Historic Tree Grove provides museum visitors with a historic stroll through time by focusing on the stories of 17 trees that are descendants of trees associated with famous and historic people and places of America. The goal of garden project is to begin the planting of 9 specific garden areas that will expand upon the interpretation of the historic significance of each tree and enhance the visitor experience in this green area. An example of one of these areas is the Ray Charles Live Oak: A sensory garden to encourage the use of non-sight senses, specifically touch and smell, to experience a garden in a way similar to someone who is blind. They are working to increase awareness of gardening, improve public awareness of the Historic Tree Grove, improve the educational and interpretive aspect of the garden space, create new volunteer opportunities, and improve the gardening skills of volunteers and Garden Club Members.

Sensory Garden

Redlands District Special School, Redlands, Queensland

The Redlands Special School Sensory Garden is an existing (yet overgrown) garden which stimulates the five senses. The goal of this grant is to make improvements on the already established garden. The specific objectives of the project are: - To plant and cultivate a variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs in our edible garden area for students to use in our cooking and tuck shop programs. Through this service-learning, students will learn in a hands-on manner about where food comes from, how it is grown and how it is prepared to eat. They will also be introduced to the concepts of sustainable agriculture, plant development and needs, entomology and prevention and(natural) management of plant disease through real life, meaningful, outdoor experiences, problem solving and observations.

Trinity Cathedral/Charlie Comella Community Garden

Cleveland, Ohio

The Charlie Comella Communtiy Garden works with neighbors, community members, government officials, nonprofit organizations and others to assist in the planning and attainment of their goals. Started in 2006 this community garden consists of nearly 60 raised beds, multiple fruit trees and herbs. First and foremost the group’s goal is to provide healthy fruit and vegetables to the Churches hot lunch program. The program feeds 200-250 hungry and homeless individuals each week. By creating the garden they have created a place of beauty in a once vacant lot, in doing so reducing litter and providing a clean and safe place for neighborhood activities. The gardeners of this garden want the Charlie Comella Community Garden to be "home" for anyone regardless of race, age, gender, faith or economic circumstance.

TRUNA Community Garden/Greenville City Harvest

Greenville, North Carolina

Greenville City Harvest (GCH) is a new organization created to assist community groups in Greenville, NC with the development and implementation of new and existing public garden projects. In March 2008, the TRUNA community garden began to provide neighbors and friends a space to come together and grown their own food. The garden is located on flood buyout property owned by the City of Greenville and cannot be developed or built upon, so by planting in this area they are helping to sustain the area from watershed, while providing healthy sustenance to community members. The garden’s plan is to plant native fruit trees and bushes that can survive in Eastern North Carolina with relatively little maintenance and without the use of fertilizers and insecticides. They will be adding fruit patches that all neighborhood members can take from and enjoy, by doing this they will be assisting families in their community who have been affected by the economic downturn.

Victory Garden Network

Montreal, Quebec

The Victory Garden Network is a garden put together by the Action Communiterre (AC). The AC is an organization that works to build awareness of the right to a healthy environment and access to both nutritious and culturally appropriate food. The goals of their garden are to increase awareness of social networks, community services, access to fresh and organic produce as well as increase the awareness of environmental health and sustainable gardening practices. Not only does this group see the benefits that come of the fresh produce but they plan to facilitate the opportunities to create connections between people and provide the means for social solidarity and integration. In 2008 the VGN produced 1881 kg of organic fruits and vegetables!

Wheeler School Community Garden

Providence, RI

The "Green Team" at the Wheeler School has set a goal to create an organic school garden for their 800 students, faculty, staff and parents. The garden will create an outdoor classroom space for hands on learning, space for their "Seed to Plate" initiative and also create a communal area for those at the school as well as their families. It is their belief that horticulture can and should be integrated into existing curriculum, from the sciences and math, to social studies and service learning. The Wheeler School is confident that both facility and staff will see the impact this garden has on the surrounding community, further more they feel this will inspire others to be involved and garden programs will begin to multiply.

Wicked Watery Wiggly Worm Garden

Nannup District High School, Nannup, Western Australia

The year 5/6/7 class are designing and making a sustainable garden. The school has seven fruit trees which have been donated and planted alongside the proposed garden site. The school is hoping to involve the whole community in this project. Any fruit and vegetables grown will be given to the students to eat, used in cooking lessons or sold in the community. In addition, the school plans to introduce worm farms alongside the garden in order to make compost. With elite private schools opening in the area it is hoped that project orange thumb will assist in raising the profile of this small school.

Willow Springs Garden

Kaministiquia, Ontario

Willow Springs Creative Centre has been providing nature based art programming for many years. With the development of the Willow Springs Garden they hope to be able to offer individuals a beautiful, safe space that offers gardening programs filled with life changing experiences. They will provide the opportunity to reconnect with nature and experience all the benefits that digging in dirt and growing something can offer. They plan to provide a therapeutic garden program which will cater to a variety of client groups and act as a Horticultural Therapy Training Centre for Northwestern Ontario. The garden will also provide volunteer opportunities as well as a restored habitat for butterflies, birds, and insects. In addition it will play an active role in the economic vitality of their rural community and act as a hub for community gatherings, celebrations, learning and training.