First Community Garden Opens in Dunwoody

The first community garden in the newest city in the United States, founded in 2008, celebrated its grand opening during National Community Gardening Week.

Volunteers of the Dunwoody Community Garden at Brook Run near Atlanta worked hard this summer to ensure its new community garden opened in time for National Community Gardening Week and for fall planting.


According to Rebecca Barria, chair of the new garden’s board of directors, “We could not have achieved this without the unyielding cooperation of the City of Dunwoody, DeKalb County, the Brook Run Conservancy, the Citizens for Dunwoody, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, a small group of dedicated citizens who now form our board of directors, and the community members who participated in our work sessions to get the foundation of the garden in place.”


Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack proclaimed August 23-29 National Community Gardening Week at the recent American Community Garden Association’s 30th annual conference, which was recently held in Ohio. The Dunwoody Community Garden is a great example of how your community can make a difference.

Go to the Dunwoody Community Garden at Brook Run Web site to see for yourself.

Find out more information about the People's Garden initiative and National Community Gardening Week proclamation or follow the People’s Garden on Twitter for the latest updates, harvests and events.

Permalink  |  Posted: 05:10PM Aug 27, 2009 by USDAblogger in USDA Web Site  |  Add Your Comment Here [0]

Community Gardens Grow Strong Bodies and Minds

Community gardens are unique microcosms where people can learn about the science behind growing plants and provide an environment that cultivates social responsibility.

With funding from USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), a non-profit organization in Virginia is working to make its community more self-reliant at maintaining its food systems while addressing food, nutrition, and farm issues.

Lynchburg Grows is a multi-faceted non-profit program that brings the healthy benefits of organic gardens to its community. Lynchburg Grows educates the public, especially children, about local and organic food, gardening and nutrition programs for local primary schools, and vocational training for disabled and low-income people.

Lynchburg Grows incorporates hands-on urban agriculture and a food and nutrition curriculum at five local elementary schools to reache over 560 children annually. This curriculum meets the Virginia Standards of Learning and provides educational experiences through classroom lessons, tastings, and cooking demonstrations.

“A big focus of what we’re trying to do is hands-on,” said Michael Van Ness, a co-founder of Lynchburg Grows. The program brings teachers together to understand how to incorporate gardening into their schoolyard as a laboratory for real-life learning.

The program also reaches at-risk youth from Rivermont Day School, the Juvenile Detention Center, and special needs students at E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg, Va.

“[The farm] gives [students] a place where they don’t have to be on guard all the time. They can relax and learn things,” said Dereck Cunningham, co-founder of the program.

Providing vocational training and job placement opportunities for special needs individuals is a cornerstone to Lynchburg Grows and a key reason for Cunningham’s active participation. Diagnosed with spina bifida, a spinal cord condition that limits mobility, doctors did not expect Cunningham to live past the age of 12. Now a man of 36, Cunningham wants to provide opportunities to people with special needs.

“Individuals with special needs, whatever they may be, would love to give back to the community, but sometimes have a hard time finding a way [that they can] contribute. This program is one way that we can allow them to do that,” Cunningham said.

The group expanded their operations in 2006 after purchasing the Schenkel farm, a 6-acre plot of land formally used for rose cultivation. The group continues to grow the Schenkel family roses, but the farm now overflows with tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, basil, fennel, sesame seeds, lettuce, Swiss chard, pumpkins, squash, watermelon, corn, sunflowers, nasturtium, and herbs.

The program also operates six community gardens within Lynchburg’s city limits that sustain local, organic food production. Lynchburg Grows assists with community revitalization through new, workable garden spaces that provide access to fresh, healthy produce. The community gardens also provide an alternate source of personal food production and economic and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Flowers and produce cultivated at the farm and community gardens are sold at the local Lynchburg Community Market every Saturday. The program also provides local restaurants with a fresh, local supply of vegetables and greens.

Lynchburg Grows was founded in 2003 by Dereck Cunningham, John Wormuth, Scott Lowman, and Michael Van Ness.

CSREES funded this project through the Community Foods Project program. Through federal funding and leadership for research, education, and extension programs, CSREES focuses on investing in science and solving critical issues impacting people’s daily lives and the nation’s future.

Jennifer Martin CSREES

Permalink  |  Posted: 10:58AM Aug 26, 2009 by USDAblogger in USDA Web Site  |  Add Your Comment Here [6]

Hummingbirds and gazpacho in the People's Garden

Today in the People's Garden, USDA volunteers hosted another Healthy Garden Workshop -- and visitors were once again able to sample a dish created entirely from garden-grown foods in the Chef's Garden. The events will continue all summer here in Washington, but you can also check out some video from this afternoon:


A volunteer from the Natural Resources Conservation Service leads the Healthy Garden Workshop, on attracting wildlife to the garden -- in this segment of the presentation, he's outlining how to attract hummingbirds.


Chefs from the USDA cafeteria hand out samples of gazpacho, prepared entirely from garden grown ingredients.

Be sure to check out the People's Garden Twitter feed, and we'll also be posting these and other videos on the USDA Facebook page.

Permalink  |  Posted: 04:09PM Aug 21, 2009 by USDAblogger in USDA Web Site  |  Add Your Comment Here [0]

Learning about rain barrels at the Healthy Garden Workshop

You may not know it, but the rain falling on your roof during storms can take a major toll on the environment.

When the rain runs off your home or apartment, it collects pollutants and debris -- and carries them directly into the nearest storm drain, beginning their journey to local bodies of water. In the mid-Atlantic, for example, storm runoff is a leading cause of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.

One great way to protect the environment and conserve water is to collect the runoff in a rain barrel; this was the focus of today's Healthy Garden Workshop at the Peoples' Garden in Washington.



Volunteer experts from the Audubon Naturalist Society presented the purpose behind home rain barrels, and explained to two dozen visitors at the Peoples' Garden the usefulness for a homeowner of installing a rain barrel, including savings on water usage (and on the water bill!). They went over the many options available to people considering a rain barrel on their property, including the size of the barrel, necessary equipment, and the choice between home construction of a barrel and commercial purchase.





This is just one more way people can be involved in conservation from their homes. Every Friday at the Peoples' Garden outside the Jamie L. Whitten Building in Washington, USDA staff and volunteer experts are holding similar Healthy Garden Workshops, showing visitors many other tips to get involved in gardening and conservation.

If you're in town, stop by Fridays at noon to learn more about gardening, conservation, and how you and your community can help contribute to sustainable American agriculture.

Permalink  |  Posted: 03:54PM Jul 31, 2009 by USDAblogger in USDA Web Site  |  Add Your Comment Here [1]