At last weekend’s Spring Thaw event I chatted with lots of new community gardeners there to meet their garden leaders and pick out some free seed packets.

Here’s a little peek at a few of the faces of community gardening in CoMo.

Leanna & Ryan Dabler have gardened before, but only in the lovely weather of California, so Missouri gardening could pose new challenges. They have herbs ready to transplant into their garden plot at Circus-Lyons and they’re also looking forward to growing beans, tomatoes, marigolds, cucumbers and a small variety of pumpkin, which Ryan is excited to cook into a delicious soup. Continue reading →

When the Broadway Christian Church decided to start a public community garden four years ago, Don Day volunteered to coordinate it. Under his guidance, the garden has expanded to 96 plots with over 60 families from all over the city tending them. Day says his absolute favorite part of the program is working with the many refugee families that have plots there. (The Columbia Refugee Garden currently adjoins the community garden at Broadway Christian Church.)

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Leslie Schneider is the leader of the 9th Street Community Garden. An accomplished gardener, this is her second season at a community garden. Continue reading →

Two years ago, the staff at Kilgore’s Medical Pharmacy observed that a large number of local children were coming to their pharmacy with ailments that could be controlled by eating a healthy diet. Ann Bromstedt, owner of Kilgore’s, decided to take action and donated land next to their Providence location.   Continue reading →

Meet Lily Chan, co-leader at the Interfaith Garden.

In 2009, the Columbia Climate Change Coalition approached avid gardener Lily Chan through her church. One of the coalition’s sub-groups, Interfaith Care for Creation, initiated a new interfaith gardening project where people from different spiritual communities work together. Their goal was to grow organic fruits and vegetables for the needy, while listening to their spiritual calling to take care of God’s creation. Chan embraced the project and began recruiting volunteers within her congregation.

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