Columbia’s Community Garden: End of the First Season
September 22, 2011
By Nate Herndon
With the combined efforts of the PedNet Coalition, the Columbia/Boone County Department of Health and Human Services, and the City of Columbia a new community garden was planted in Columbia last April. Garden coordinator Mike Burden said that the project was made possible through a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant as part of the Unite 4 Healthy Neighborhoods project. The garden is located just west of the Health Department. Maureen Coy worked as a liaison between the Health Department and key partners the City of Columbia Public Works, “Maureen has really helped to make this get off the ground, or in the ground,” said Burden.
Organizers like Burden and Coy dealt with obstacles as they came up. Two large containers were set out for rainwater collection, and until recently, gardeners filled their water buckets from them. Burden applauded the determination of the gardeners that consistently hand-watered their plots. “This was personally challenging,” said Coy, “because of the amount of water needed and the weight of the bucket,” says Coy. Soon Burden and others began putting together the funds for a water line. It was not until mid-August though before the garden could pay for the line and hydrant. “You need to have a consistent water source,” Burden said.
Another challenge was the fact the lack of tools at the garden. “People were tired of bringing tools back and forth,” Said Burden. Answering the call, a shed was erected for gardener’s use. Hired for the project was Columbia Builds Youth, an organization that gives individuals the chance to hone their construction skills through hands-on projects like that of the garden shed. Columbia’s local Sears store donated a portion of a shed and tools to the project.
At the end of the first season, gardeners have reported a 75-80% success rate among plot harvests. Coy said that she most enjoyed watching preschool age children learn to care for the healthy foods being grown: “The kids would look at the other gardener’s plots and be able to identify what was growing in them.” With plans to share next year’s harvest with Health Department food programs, coordinators are betting that the success of the garden will only grow.
