|
Gardening in front of Hines
|
The Mayor’s Conservation Corps (MCC) youth began canvassing Capitol Hill in July, distributing information about the program and seeking to have their youth participate in green projects on the Hill. The gardeners hosting a Community Victory Garden at Hine Junior High School on Capitol Hill decided to explore expanding their urban gardening initiative by approaching the MCC to see if some of the young people involved would like to become part of the community garden and share in the harvest. Within a week, the gardeners received a positive response from project administrators, and a group of curious new gardeners joined in at the garden ready to get their hands dirty.
Of the young people who came forward to form the new Victory Garden youth team, all were first-time vegetable gardeners. These enthusiastic new partners decided they would like to till and plant their own garden plot, so the group solicited plant donations from local gardening stores Frager’s Hardware and Ginkgo Gardens. The stores’ generous backing provided the foundation for the newest garden plot, which contains strawberries, broccoli, brussels sprouts, collard greens and a variety of bell peppers and tomatoes. Since then, Home Depot has agreed to provide the project with some much needed supplies. While neighbors have graciously allowed the gardeners to access their water line to water the garden, the group hopes to gain access to a water source at the Hine School in the near future.
The MCC youth are actively involved with the weeding, watering, planting, tilling and fertilizing of the entire garden space. And in mid-July, the gardeners had their first harvest of green beans, zucchini, lettuce and yellow squash. There was quite a bit of excitement about the vegetables and a discussion about cooking tips.
The MCC participants have poured a lot of sweat equity into the gardens during July. The sense of ownership they have in relation to their own garden plot, which they took from a bare piece of grassy lawn to a flowering and blossoming organic vegetable garden, is palpable, and their energy and spirit has made the Hine site a real community garden.
Those who began the garden are grateful for the valuable assistance afforded by the MCC program. Without the enthusiastic help program participants have extended, the garden would not have thrived to the extent it has.
The evolution of the gardens to include MCC young people aims at supporting them as they increase their food production knowledge and skills, and sets an example for local neighborhoods about what can be accomplished through creativity and cooperation. As the Hine School property where the garden is located will only be available until redevelopment activities begin at that site, the group is hoping to fuel the urban agriculture movement in the area and work toward having the city designate an appropriate public space for future planting. |
