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This Community Newspaper is a weekly publication of Escambia Santa/Rosa Bar Association Page 1 Vol. 15, No. 25 VISIT THE SUMMATION WEEKLY ONLINE: www.esrba.com June 23, 2015
4 Pages
From the Ground Up, A Growing Community By: Kelly Oden
Beneath the concrete behemoths of interstate off-ramps on Hayne Street a once abandoned community garden is getting a welldeserved reboot. The garden is called From the Ground Up and it consists of 36 green raised garden beds filled with organic, heirloom plants in a dizzying array of varieties. Tomatoes, beans, peppers, cucumbers and plenty of complimentary herbs and flowers have been brought to life by lead gardener Cat McCreery and a team of volunteers who believe in sustainability and the value of growing your own food. Funded by Innisfree Hotels’ corporate social responsibility program, The Hive, the community garden was originally inspired by a similar project in British Columbia called Sole Food Farm. The City of Pensacola and Mayor Ashton Hayward allowed the use of the land, which is an integral part of the City’s Hollice T. Williams Urban Linear Greenway Framework Plan. During the initial “dig in” volunteers repaired the garden’s structure, removed contaminated soil and prepared the beds for planting. This spring they planted over 4,000 heritage organic vegetable, flower and herb plants. The garden is about planting more than vegetables, though. They hope to plant opportunities as well. “We’re planting a chance for kids and their parents to grow healthy foods that will sustain their bodies, as well as their minds. There are many social advantages to growing community gardens. They improve the health and well-being of those involved, beautify neighborhoods, reduce family food budgets and working in the garden is great exercise.” McCreery and her team of volunteers work hard to maintain the integrity of the garden. In fact, many of the plants are heirloom varieties passed down within McCreery’s own family. “Everything here is an heirloom. The definition of heirloom is something that has been sustainably grown and not altered for a minimum of fifty years. Some of the varieties that we have growing in our garden date back to the time of Columbus and discovery of America. So a lot of things that are in the garden are also part of a preservation effort, in that we are going to save those seeds and we will actively send those seeds into Seed-Savers Exchange and they will get categorized and they will help to build up the availability of varieties that are slipping away from our food supply. One important function of this garden will be as a preservation garden,” she explains. (continued page 3)