We want to thank Vance and Becky Clearwater who kindly donated their Troy-Bilt Horse rototiller to the Community Garden Coalition last week! We got it on the 27th and put it to use on the 28th! Here it is tilling some beds at the Ann Street Garden.
If you’re thinking of donating garden tools or equipment, see our “Give Stuff” page.
And don’t forget: During the month of December, we’re working with #CoMoGives to raise money for the 2021 gardening season and the Friendship Community Garden. You can help us reach our $5,000 goal — every little bit helps! Donate today at CoMoGives.
One of the best parts of being on the board of the Community Garden Coalition is the opportunity to visit all of our gardens. Although it’s been less frequent this year due to the virus, I’ve still been invited to socially-distanced garden parties, harvesting events, and just to talk with gardeners and see how things are going.
When I’m struggling to fill out all the forms for our city grant (which only provides about half of our funding), I find it’s wise to take a break and look at some of the garden pictures we’ve taken during the year. It reminds me how important this organization is to so many people, and why I want to continue doing my part to help!
You can do your part to help others December 1-31, with a donation to the Community Garden Coalition through CoMoGives.
This newer garden located on Smiley Lane at the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, has been growing in membership despite a lack of good soil, a storage shed and a water spigot. We are hoping that you will help us to help them!
Friendship Garden
Friendship Garden
Friendship Garden
Friendship Garden leaders and members have done a lot of creative problem solving in their few years of existence. From coming up with a water hauling and storage system last year to pivoting during the pandemic to offer a garden education program to kids displaced from their regular summer camp. Their efforts are inspiring and the CGC wants to help them continue to improve their garden.
Even a small donation can go a long way in our budget!Your dollars stay local, and they’ll go directly back into supporting community gardens used by your neighbors and friends with hoses, wheelbarrows, lawnmowers, seeds, compost and more.
You and your friends can also stay in touch with CGC and check on our progress by following us on Facebook. Thank you for your support and consideration, and happy holiday season from myself and the rest of the CGC Board of Directors!
Kathy Doisy, President
CGC Board Members Jenny McDonald, Vice President Bill McKelvey, Treasurer Ann Marie Gortmaker Kristin Hatton Cheryl Jensen Sarah Kendrick
In this turbulent year, we know many folks found extra worth in cultivating a garden.
We’re so glad that we could find ways to help our member gardens thrive this year. And, we’d like to the thank all our hardworking garden leaders and volunteers as well as the land owners who allow these gardens to grow. THANK YOU! We are so appreciative of what you do and how you help your community!
To wrap up our year, the Community Garden Coalition is participating in the community-wide CoMoGives fundraising campaign, December 1-31.
New this year, whatever amount we raise, we are pledging half to the Friendship Community Garden! We want to bolster this newer garden by helping them fund some bigger-ticket needs like a shed and topsoil. We’re so pleased to partner with this group and greatly appreciate their involvement with the CGC!
You can donate to the CGC and help support Friendship Garden and all the member gardens starting on Giving Tuesday, December 1 via CoMoGives.com.
And CoMoGives makes it so easy to give to all your favorite nonprofits! So many groups are doing important work in our community and need extra support this year. Please help spread the word about CoMoGives to your friends and family!
A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who supported community gardens during the CoMoGives local donations campaign!!! Whether you were able to give $10 or $200, or even just passed on our message, we are very grateful for your support!
We’re excited about a new year of gardening and hope that we can supply lots of new and continuing gardeners with the means to grow some of their own food in 2020. Our first meeting of the new year happens Wed., January 8 at the Columbia Public Library at 7 p.m. We welcome funding requests from member gardens, and we’d be happy to meet any volunteers who’d like to get involved.
Ann St. gardeners — thank you for sharing the love!
P.S. If you missed the CoMoGives donation deadline of Dec. 31, you can still give to the CGC anytime of year online or with a check via the good old USPS.
The CGC has been helping gardens grow since 1983. Here’s a look back at some of the gardens we supported in 2019.
Ash Street Garden
Cambridge Place Garden
Friendship Garden Club
Russell Boulevard Outdoor Classroom
Ann Street Garden
Cougarden at Columbia College
The support we receive from donors like you allows us to fund fences, tools, water, mulch, compost, plants, seeds and equipment at gardens like these. It only takes $10 to show your support for another great year of growing community through gardens.
One of the ways that the Community Garden Coalition gets funding for our efforts (besides your generous donations) is through a small grant from the City of Columbia. To receive this grant, we must apply every two years and go through the same rigorous process as agencies with paid employees. Part of the review process includes taking Health Department commissioners on a tour of one of our gardens. This year, Garden Leader Hari Poudel and other gardeners hosted this tour at the Ash Street Garden, and I went along.
That tour was a revelation for me! I wish that everyone could have been along to see how important this garden is to so many people. I always knew that we helped people grow tasty and healthful produce for themselves, family and friends, but I didn’t realize how many people originally from other countries used our gardens to grow their native produce and medicinal plants. According to Hari, there are thirty different families gardening at Ash Street, many of whom came from Nepal, Bangladesh, Taiwan, South Korea and China.
I recently asked Hari if he would mind answering the following questions so more folks could get a glimpse of the Ash Street gardening community.
Q: What inspired you to become the garden leader at Ash Street?
Hari: First, I am very glad to serve as a garden leader in the Ash St garden. The key motivational factor is my intention of serving local communities where I live. Second, when I am at the garden, I feel it is my second home. It is also a place to meet people from different backgrounds, experiences, and cultures. More importantly, a community garden can serve as a social network place which helps in enhancing social ties and building a greater feeling of community. Lastly, I am able to learn different vegetable farming practices from people from different countries. It’s a great learning opportunity.
Q: Please describe the gardeners at Ash St. and how you think the garden helps them and their families.
Hari: The garden has a broad impact at the community level. About 30 households, including 67 family members, are actively involved in Ash St garden. Gardeners have grown a wide variety of vegetables. More than 50% have been gardening for more than four years. We always have new applicants on our waiting list. The planting season starts right after our garden kick-off day in April and it will go until late October or early November. During my four year experience as a garden leader, I would say more than 90% of the gardeners depend on fresh vegetables for about 5-6 months on the garden. Thus, I would say that our garden has significantly contributed to help in providing fresh vegetables to our gardeners. I am also one of the beneficiaries.
Thanks to Hari and all the gardeners at Ash St., the Health Department commissioners were very pleased with their garden tour, and the City has once again awarded the CGC with a social services grant to continue our support for gardens like these.
This December, you can also show that you support community gardening by making a donation to the CGC through the CoMoGives local giving project. Your dollars go directly to pay for water, tools, mulch and more at gardens like Ash Street. Find our CoMoGives page here, and don’t forget to donate by December 31!
In 2019, the Community Garden Coalition was pleased to support over 1,000 gardeners through another season of growing food and cultivating community.Our member gardeners include people stretching their food budgets, students learning about growing plants for the first time, people growing produce to donate to others and gardeners keeping alive food traditions from distant cultures.
To help community gardens thrive in Columbia, our all-volunteer group offers seeds, plants, water, insurance, tools and supplies. We believe that small gardens can have large benefits. They provide healthy food, stronger communities, greener neighborhoods and a sense of pride and shared accomplishment.
For the third year in a row, we’re joining the CoMoGives local giving campaign. Our goal is to raise $5,000 during the month of December – and we need your help!
Even a small donation can go a long way in our budget! Your dollars stay local, and they’ll go directly back into supporting community gardens used by your neighbors and friends with hoses, wheelbarrows, lawnmowers, seeds, compost and more.
We would also like to spread our message further this year. Can you help us spread the word about community gardening and our mission, by sharing this message with someone else you know?
You and your friends can also stay in touch with CGC and check on our progress by following us on Facebook. Thank you for your support and consideration, and happy holiday season from your CGC Board of Directors!
Kathy Doisy, President Jenny McDonald, Vice President Bill McKelvey, Treasurer Lauren Godsy, Secretary Ann Marie Gortmaker Kristin Hatton Sarah Kendrick Zach Pietryla
Congratulations on another great season of gardening!
The Community Garden Coalition would like to thank all our hardworking garden leaders and volunteers and all our generous donors for their efforts. We are so appreciative of what you do and how you help your community!
We also depend on the support of many individual donors through the CoMoGives local giving campaign in December. Can you help us this year with a donation or by passing on our message to your friends and family?
You can donate to the CGC and many other great local organizations through CoMoGives starting Dec. 1.
Community Garden Coalition 