Growing garden since 1996
It all starts with a distressing and revolting observation: the state of Oregon produces enough food to feed its population, yet one in seven people living in the state falls asleep with hunger. The most damning thing in this story is that 80% of these people are directly involved in food production. They are peasants, fishermen, workers and many come from Latin or African-American minorities. These populations are not able to access, due to lack of means, the food for which they contribute to production. This intolerable situation has led a group of citizens to commit to reducing these inequalities. The solution? Putting power and knowledge back in the hands of these people. Growing Garden since 1996 is an association that is committed to a radical movement of knowledge transmission around gardening and food sovereignty. Through the teaching of vegetable and small fruit production practices, the association wishes to make available to everyone the possibility of producing part of their food. By empowering individuals, Growing Garden has built a real network of people who have become promoters and defenders of the initiative in turn. The association intervenes in schools, for the general public, and in penitentiary establishments. Growing Garden has developed its programs in English and Spanish to be sure of reaching all the people in need. These programs concretely translate into a connection between people, by creating street or neighborhood solidarity. Through the creation of shared or private vegetable gardens, the association trains ambassadors and gardeners, who are then able to transmit this knowledge.
How is this program going?
People who wish to enroll in the program of courses and workshops contact the association, either through a neighborhood gardener advisor or directly by contacting the structure or on the website. Then a referent advisor is designated and works with the participant(s) to assess the needs and establish an action program. Then it is a matter of estimating and diagnosing the available resources and the constraints of the site. (raw materials, soil properties, toxicity or residual pollution). The advisor accompanies participants to design, build and maintain high-yield garden beds. The association provides free seeds for 3 years, then continues to offer courses and workshops and various resources. At the end of the program, after having well trained the participants, Growing Garden tries to recruit these new gardeners so that they can intervene in their neighborhood as a gardening advisor. To set up all these new edible spaces, the association proposes different means depending on the available space, the configuration of the place, the number of people to feed and the physical abilities of future gardeners. From the open ground to the heavier structure in wooden planks, through the container garden, all means are good to manage to produce its food.
Garden of Giving
In 2022, Growing Garden developed a new place and expanded its scope of intervention on care. Garden of Giving was created by a group of nurses in 2010. They cultivated and maintained it for 10 years. Most of the production was given to food banks and local communities in need. In 2020, with the COVID pandemic, the garden was abandoned for 2 years until April 2022. It was from this date that the association entered into a partnership with the hospital of Providence. It took one month for the caregivers and volunteers to restore the 48 planters and the entire garden. This work bore fruit because the garden then produced more than 900 kg of vegetables in the season. With this partnership, the association allowed this garden to become also a place of care and therapy. The doctors of the hospital can prescribe times in the garden to accompany care. Physical activity related to gardening and contact with the soil and plants are beneficial for the body and mind. Numerous studies confirm the benefits of proximity to plants on our physical and mental health. That is why the hospital’s dietitians offer, when conditions allow, their appointments in the garden. The place is less stressful and more peaceful for the patients.
The work that is accomplished by Growing Garden is remarkable and the energy deployed by its employees and volunteers is admirable. Learning how to germinate seeds and plant vegetables is one thing, but accompanying them throughout the growing season can sometimes be complicated when diseases appear. In order not to leave the gardeners to their own devices and for the general public, the association offers a consultation service. For a donation (free price starting from $10) it is possible to ask questions and get technical feedback to solve a problem. This service is one of the operating methods that Growing Garden uses to finance itself. To carry out its missions, the association can count on a strong and committed team of about thirty people. Concerned with respecting the inclusivity of all people, the association strives to recruit profiles from the LGBTQIA+ community as well as former participants in its programs. When one follows and looks at all the actions that the structure performs and proposes, one perceives energy and commitment. But to maintain this momentum and renew oneself, one must adapt and propose new things. For this, Growing Garden has an integrated think tank that aims to think about the actions of tomorrow.
