How does a church successfully implement a Community Garden?

Hi Jack,

CRWRC and OSJ have teamed up the last few years to offer a congregational grant (Green Grant) to churches who are doing interesting things with creation stewardship. We get a lot of responses from churches who do community gardens - several of theeir project ideas can be found on the grant application website: http://www.crcna.org/pages/osj_greengrant.cfm.

I might have more info on a specific church if you want to know more, otherwise feel free to contact them directly! It'd be cool to have a mentorship model if you're just getting started.

Meghan

Covenant CRC church in west Edmonton has had a community garden for several years.   I have seen it a couple of times, and it looks nice.   But I have no idea how they run it.

We (Houston CRC in northern B.C.) started a community garden three years ago. Actually it was more like we dug up some of the grass on the church property, hauled in some dirt and started planting some seeds. It is as much or as little work as you'd like it to be I guess. We've gone the "less work" route and given people their own plot that they are responsible for year after year. This encourages them to take care of and even build up the soil in their little section. We also ask them to help out once or twice a summer with a general garden cleanup. There are a couple volunteers in the church that come.

Our church is in a rural area so the need for a garden is not as high as in a city because most of us have our own gardens but there are several people who participate who live in apartments and/or do not have access to land. Some of us do it for the socializing and an extra potatoe patch.

If you would like more information on starting and running a community garden A Rocha Canada has an excellent program called The Plot Thickens. There's more information about the workshops and the Community Garden network at our website http://www.arocha.ca/communitygardens/

Prince George CRC has a great garden as well and they got funding to build it and even hire a summer student to watch over it.

I'd love to see what you are doing. Make sure you post some pics when you have started. \

Shalom and happy gardening.

Cindy Verbeek

Member, Houston CRC

Community Mobilizer, A Rocha Canada

Hi Jack,

Did you ever get a community garden started at your church? A Rocha has a great resource that might help: http://www.arocha.ca/community-groups-resources/

Blessings wherever this day finds you.