Current and future community gardens in Helena, MT:
Plymouth Community Garden
Our newest community garden is located on property owned by Plymouth Congregational Church. The garden fulfills the mission of the Growing Community Project to provide access to healthy, local food for those experiencing poverty. As well it fulfills the church's mission to create community and address social justice issues. There will be roughly 20 community beds in the first year- as well as beds tended specifically for the Helena Food Share.
The garden has been a success because of all the volunteer labor and donated/discounted materials by several local businesses. Special thanks to:
Power Townsend
Mark's Lumber
Marks-Miller Post and Pole
Bobcat of Helena
Rock Hand Hardware
ProBuild
Real Food Store and Deli
Valley Farms
Lakshmi Building
Gruber Excavating
Montana Conservation Corps
Habitat for Humanity
Herrin Water Systems
All the Volunteers!
Photos of Volunteer Builders: Top- Habitat for Humanity work crew, Bottom left- Lakshmi Building, Bottom right- MCC Crew
Food Share Garden
The Food Share Community Garden is just steps away from Food Share. Food Share recently bought land next door to expand their warehouse, but until the capital is raised, the land won't be used for much. Joyce Brown decided not to let the empty space go to waste, even if only for a couple years, and began organizing and working with the Growing Community Project and Food Share to build a community garden. She asked local businesses for donations, and nearly all of the materials for the garden were generously donated. The garden was built over three weeks, with an amazing number of volunteers turning out to help.
Half of the Food Share Garden are community plots, where individuals can rent a plot for the growing season. The other half are Volunteer For Veggies beds. All of the starts and seeds were donated. These beds are open for community members to come and volunteer a little time weeding, watering, and harvesting veggies, and in exchange can take home as many veggies as they need. The rest of the vegetables were donated directly to Food Share. Over the course of 2008 we donated over 400 pounds of veggies to Food Share!
Thank you so much to everyone who volunteered at the Food Share Garden. The garden was a success, thanks to your hard work and dedication. And thank you to all the local businesses that donated materials for the garden. This is a photo of one our work parties on the garden. This day we installed irrigation, finished up the fence, and planted some Volunteer For Veggie beds.
The Food Share Garden is temporary. In the next two years, Food Share will be breaking ground on their new warehouse, and the garden will have to be moved to a new location. We would like to keep it in the neighborhood. If you are interested in working on securing a new location for the garden, please contact us.
Exploration Community Garden
Community Works developed Exploration Garden in the summer of 2005 in cooperation with the Helena Rotary Club and the YMCA. It is an outdoor classroom and exhibit of ExplorationWorks, an interactive children's museum. The garden provides hands-on learning opportunites in the study of plants and botany, health and nutrition, cooking, and environmental sciences.
In 2007 the Growing Community Project began working with ExplorationWorks to expand Exploration Garden to include community beds. We added on 12 raised beds, and began renting plots to people in the neighborhood in the spring of 2008. WEEL, ExplorationWorks, and AERO held a fundraiser to build a fence in order to curb the deer problem. With the help of generous donations, many volunteers, and countless volunteer hours, we built the fence over 5 weeks.
Exploration Garden is located right next to the YMCA off of Last Chance Gulch.
The photo is of a women's class on building raised beds, taught by Anna Baker at the garden.
Cruse Overlook Community Garden
Building will begin in October of 2009 on this new garden. Cruse Overlook will feature wheel-chair accessible beds to benefit the residents of Sunset apartments as well as the Helena community.
The Florence Crittenton Home Garden
In the spring of 2007, the Florence Crittenton Home contacted the Growing Community Project for help in building a communal garden for the women who live and work at the Home. The young women designed, built, planted, and tended their garden. It was built with help from the Montana Conservation Corps (MCC). The girls harvested vegetables in the fall and made baby food. They also gave away packets of herbs at the annual Sixth Ward and Midtowne Flea Market, a neighborhood event held in their neighborhood.
In 2008 the garden was expanded to include room for corn, squash, beans, and an apple tree. Many thanks to MCC and the Boy Scouts.
This photo is of Jess, a resident of the Florence Crittenton Home, and her 2 year-old son, James. Jess is very interested in gardening, and she interned with the Growing Community Project in the summer of 2008. She was integral in organizing the Food Share Garden, and doing outreach to the neighborhood around the garden. She spent a lot of time working in the Florence Crittenton Home Garden.
Jess began gardening when she was eight, and has a green thumb. “You get to watch seedlings grow and mature and produce seeds of their own. In all reality, it’s like watching kids grow. It just takes less time.”
Beltview Park
Before her recent passing, Selma Held (right) organized in her community to develop Beltview Park for the past several years. The neighborhood surrounding Beltview want a community garden in the park, and we are working with them to make sure that happens. Selma also worked with the Helena Citizens Council and the Parks and Recreation Department as they worked out a system for developing all the undeveloped parklands in Helena.
With help from the HCC and the GCP, the people involved in the park conducted a survey to find out what their neighbors wanted to see in the park. We distributed over 1000 surveys, and received over 400 back. Many people are excited about the park, and about having a community garden there. Next came the design process. Community members gathered and designed Beltview Park using the survey results and the expertise of a landscape architect donating her time. Now the designs are being professionally drawn, and will be submitted to the Parks and Rec Department for approval.
The Friends of Beltview Park are currently raising funds for the structures that the neighborhood wants in the park, but that the city might not be able to provide, such as a playground and community garden.
If you would like to know what is happening at Beltview Park, please visit Beltview Park Now! and sign up for email updates.
Waukesha Community Garden
Waukesha Garden has been around since the 1970's and it is run by the Parks and Recreation Department. Please call them at 447-8463 for more information about this garden.
Possible Future Community Garden locations in Helena
Janet Street Park
