Community Gardening • About Growing to Green • School Gardens • How to Start a Community Garden • Growing to Green Awards • Central Ohio Community Gardens • Scotts Urban Garden Academy • Columbus Community Gardening Resource Guide • 2008 Ohio Community Gardening Conference • Contact • Partners • Links •
To download a PDF of programs and events
going on at the conference Click Here.
to Download a PDF of the Registration form Click Here.
What is Community Gardening?
Community gardening is the development and revitalization of unused or abandoned spaces into attractive, productive green spaces for the benefit of neighborhood community groups.
Community gardening:
- Encourages self-sufficiency
- Contributes to the education and socialization of youth
- Creates opportunities for multicultural understanding
- Provides ecological awareness
- Fosters intergenerational opportunities
- Improves family nutrition and increases community food security
- Promotes biodiversity
- Meets social and recreational needs
- Offers gardening opportunities to people with disabilities
- Provides vocational training and work experiences
- Enhances neighborhood safety and beauty
- Builds coalitions among groups dedicated to community revitalization
Community gardens began to develop in the United States in the late 1930s and 40s. Families were asked by the federal government to plant their own community, or “victory”, gardens during and following World War II. Since the start of victory gardens, community gardens have developed into a fun, inexpensive, and healthy way for people to grow their own produce and flowers.
Today, an estimated 18,000 community gardens operate in both rural and urban areas nationwide. While many grow for their families and neighbors, many gardens also donate to local food pantries and homeless shelters.
About Growing to Green
A program of Franklin Park Conservatory, Growing to Green is Columbus' largest organized effort to promote and provide free community resources for community gardening and city beautification.
Started in March 2000, Growing to Green has assisted in the start-up or renovation of more than 90 community gardens throughout the central Ohio area. While most are community gardens, others are school gardens, memorial gardens, and neighborhood beautification projects.
Through Growing to Green, the Conservatory manages two community gardens on the park grounds—the Franklin Park Demonstration Garden, which works as an educational resource and classroom for community gardeners, and the Franklin Park Community Garden, which includes community plots available to local gardeners for the Columbus and Franklin Park neighborhoods.
Since its inception, Growing to Green has risen to national acclaim and, in May 2006, Franklin Park Conservatory became the national headquarters of the American Community Gardening Association.
Growing to Green is now looking far into its future. The program is a major part of a comprehensive master plan to expand the Conservatory’s facility, create more community gardens, and renovate the park’s original caretakers’ cottage for community gardening education.
School Gardens
Growing to Green provides design assistance and program support to Columbus area schools interested in creating a schoolyard-learning garden. Growing to Green can even refer you to ways of using it effectively and making it part of an established curriculum. If you are a teacher or school official and would like to find out how you can start a school garden, call 614.645.5952.
How to Start a Community Garden
Would you like to start a community garden, but don’t know where to begin? Growing to Green’s resources can facilitate your quest to start a community garden or beautification project in your neighborhood.
Scotts Urban Garden Academy
The Scotts Urban Garden Academy is an educational and funding program made possible by a partnership with Scotts Miracle-Gro and The Columbus Foundation. The Scotts Urban Garden Academy offers a series of courses designed to provide the skills and resources needed to successfully implement and sustain a community garden. These in-depth classes are taught annually at Franklin Park Conservatory.
Community leaders organizing neighborhood development through community gardening can obtain funding through the Scotts Urban Garden Academy grant program. Grant recipients are required to attend the Scotts Urban Garden Academy courses. For more information about grant opportunities and application deadlines, call The Columbus Foundation at 614.251.4000.
Columbus Community Gardening Resource Guide
You can also learn more about community gardening through Growing to Green’s Columbus Community Gardening Resource Guide. The Resource Guide is a comprehensive collection of useful information on all aspects of community gardening. It includes funding sources, a guide to land and resources provided by the City of Columbus, gardening fact sheets, and more. To obtain a copy, call 614.645.5952.
Growing to Green Awards
The Growing to Green Awards honor the dedication and hard work of many central Ohio communities and individuals while furthering Growing to Green’s objective of promoting participation in city beautification and community gardening.
The Growing to Green Awards provide an excellent opportunity to have your garden project recognized for its contributions to the Columbus community. Garden Award categories include Community, Educational, Youth, and Neighborhood Beautification.
Another award that identifies the importance of area gardeners is the Community Gardener of the Year Award honoring the exceptional efforts of a gardener for his/her dedication to their gardening projects and as a role model for other Columbus community gardeners. The Community Gardener of the Year Award includes a cash prize of $250 to be applied to the gardener’s community garden. Top entries in the Community Garden and Educational Garden categories are also recognized with a cash prize of $500 each. To see the awards invitation Click Here.
Gardeners are encouraged to participate in the Growing to Green Awards by entering an award application. Applicants can nominate themselves or another Columbus group or individual for their gardening efforts. Entries are judged by a panel of professionals and community members selected by Franklin Park Conservatory. For an entry form, Click Here.
Central Ohio Community Gardens
Franklin County Juvenile Court Garden
Horn of Africa Community Garden
Chapman Elementary School Garden
Native American Indian Center
Project Beauty Community Garden
Contact
For more information about community gardening, please contact:
Franklin Park Conservatory
Attn: Bill Dawson, Growing to Green Coordinator
1777 East Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43203
614.645.5952
growingtogreen@fpconservatory.org
Growing to Green Partners
Growing to Green would like to thank the following partners for their assistance in making Columbus a better place to garden.
Community Gardening Links
View links for community gardening resources.
