We had a great first season for the garden in 2010, and have had many fine seasons since then.
Here's what we accomplished the first year and since then:
---Negotiated and signed a lease for the garden site with Whitman College
---Obtained sponsorship by the North Main Area Neighborhood Association
---Obtained insurance through a partnership with Walla Walla 2020
---Received outreach assistance from Commitment to Community
---Obtained parking area fill from the City of Walla Walla
---Established twelve initial working groups for garden organization
---Appointed a garden coordinator and a garden master
---Received an initial grant from the Walla Walla Friends Meeting
---Adopted a work plan and time table for opening the garden
---Adopted garden rules
---Adopted a garden layout
---Began to enrich the soil
---Installed a garden sign
---Began the application process for individual plots
---Rototilled the full garden site several times, working in compost materials
---Adopted a budget and resource plan
-- Assigned plots
---Organized & offered gardening classes
---Installed a fence
---Installed an irrigation system & pathways
---Built a toolshed
---Planted 30 individual and 5 common area plots.
---Received several additional grants, private donations, and community memberships
---Donated hundreds of pounds of produce to local food banks each year
---Beautified our neighborhood
---Had a great time meeting our neighbors, increasing our gardening skills, and harvesting and sharing our produce.
---Installed a beautiful sculptured archway into the garden
---Installed a green house.
There are many community gardens in the northwest and elsewhere whose experience we can all learn from. Here are links to over 100 established community gardens in three of our northwest cities:
http://www.seattle.gov/Neighborhoods/ppatch/ (Seattle, 68 gardens)
http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/index.cfm?c=39846 (Portland, 32 gardens)
Please pass this information on to others who might be interested.
Happy gardening,
Andrea Workman, Coordinator
Rees and Sumach Community Garden
PO Box 1222,WallaWalla WA 99362
509-876-2999, piksaki@yahoo.com or
rees.sumach@charter.net
Garden Progress
