A Garden is Born

The Garden is Born ! (PICTURES)
What a day! Monday, June 1st, 2009. Just a few months ago, there was an overgrown jungle of trees and vines; today there is a beautiful vegetable garden on the same site at the Park Spring Apartments in Spring City.

Over 30 people of all ages, colors, and religions came together and worked side by side to plant beds of tomatoes, peppers, collards, lettuce, melons, squash--and much more.

But this was just the final stages of the 'birthing' of a garden at this Section 8 housing development which has created this resource for its residents. A whole community of partnerships worked efficiently to make it happen in record time:
Ed Rodriguez, Park Spring Social Service coordinator, Mark Birdsall, Triskeles Youth Program Director; Mason Vollmer, garden consultant, and Raj Lewis, Triskeles staff, all brought their resources and experience in different areas to bear.
The Helen Bader Foundation (Milwaukee) funded Green Internships for local youth to do much of the work in the garden.
Hugo Buda and Sankanac Farm donated time and expertise to 'prepare the table' (do the excavation and tilling) for the garden.
The Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation, the Chester County Economic Development Council, and the Phoenixville Community Health Foundation provided funding for the materials and time involved.
Youth and Parents from Park Springs Apartments pitched in and helped.
North Coventry Elementary School donated some plants from their garden nearby, and three Kimberton Waldorf School students did a week of social service work to help get the garden ready.
Then we all came together to plant and talk and share ideas and hopes and visions of all the good food, conversations and community-building that will come out of the garden, as well as the hard work yet to come, as the residents signed up for which garden areas they will be responsible for weeding and watering.
This is certainly one of only a few community gardens in low-income housing developments, and we will track its progress and growth in this blog. With lots of pictures,of course. (Click HERE for the pictures)

Congratulations Mr. Ed and Interstate Realty Management for providing this wonderful space.