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But as with many good things in life, complications cropped up. The land was right-of way that was owned by the state, but managed by the city. “The city had never given permission to do anything like this,” he says. It took a lot of partnerships to make the garden a reality. St. Paul’s pays for insurance and water and provided grant money. The Growing Community Project, a collaboration of two local nonprofits, WEEL (Working for Equality and Economic Liberation) and AERO (Alternative Energy Resources Organization), offered community garden know-how. An Eagle Scout, Jacob Mangum, and his landscape architect father, Bardell, did the garden design and also recruited workers. Volunteers arrived in droves. More than 100 have helped this year, with as many as 50 on one day. Among them was the Youth Conservation
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Corps, which showed up to move the dirt, lots of it. Then the gardeners came this spring—some 25 to 30 share the 16 spaces, which were first offered to residents at Sunset Apartments. Some of the Sunset people have major disabilities, and not a lot of resources, notes Clark. There’s also a team from the Center for Mental Health that shares a space. With the church paying for the water, all these community garden spaces are free, which is not the case at other community gardens in Helena. Although all the beds were snapped up this spring, they’re open to gardeners from anywhere in town. But there is a waiting list. Although Clark has been gardening more than 30 years, he decided this spring to take a Master Gardening class offered by the Lewis and Clark County Extension Office. “The reason I wanted to be a Master Gardener was to be more helpful,” he says. “I didn’t realize how little I knew. I thought I knew just about everything, but I learned a lot. I learned a lot about soils and soil fertility that I’ve applied so far. I learned a bit more about when to plant stuff and the spacing.” He also learned about trees—how to plant them and place the roots and what makes trees fail. And since the garden is organic, he needed to learn nonchemical means for doing pest control. “I found the class pretty challenging,” he says. “I liked the challenge of learning as much as I could. It was very comprehensive.” Level 1 of the class covers the core basics of gardening, such as soil science, botany and other core background. Level 2 and 3 are more intensive and hands-on. The value of the class, adds extension agent Brent Sarchet, “is the knowledge gained through the course—where you can successfully grow fruits and vegetables for your family, plus there’s the fruits of your labor and the pride of growing something.” [!]
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One of the many things she likes about community gardens is that it brings people together. “You get to talk to people,” Bhimani says. “You’re not just digging in the dirt, but you’re sharing with people. It’s about access to healthy food and it’s about education. That’s what makes community gardens so special.” It’s also about bringing generations together. One of Bhimani’s favorite moments was watching a mother explain to her young son the process of planting and tending a garden. “I really like that parents are teaching their kids that growing food is something important,” she says. The Growing Community Project is working closely with Amy Teegarden, director of the city Parks and Recreation Department, to expand gardening opportunities in Helena. For the past six months, they’ve been working on a draft agreement addressing how to manage community garden spaces on public land. The city has operated one community garden at Waukesha Park for almost 30 years. On a recent parks department survey, new garden spaces came out as a high priority. The city is working on master plans for six parks. Three of the parks—Janet Street, Selma Held and Skelton—have been selected to have community gardens. “I think it’s a very appropriate function for the parks department to provide garden space,” Teegarden says. “We just have to decide how it should be managed and paid for.” The Waukesha Garden hasn’t raised its fees in 30 years, Teegarden says. The $860 that the 43 plots generate is far less than the water costs of $3,500. “We’re at a crossroads,” she says. “It’s my hope after I get direction from the city commission, we can really start managing a community garden program.” [!]
summer/fall 2010
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