Gardeners Get Involved

An optimist looking over their own garden fence might be inclined to say something like “Wow, the vegetable patch is half full.”  A  pessimist looking at the same plot would say, “shucks, the vegetable patch is half empty.” but when a giving person comes upon that same garden they say “Look at all those vegetables, I’m going to go find some hungry people.”

Gardeners are natural givers, because the garden teaches us the importance of giving.  When we give our plants compost, they thrive and produce.  When we give our bodies home grown foods, we thrive and are productive.  When we share all this productive health by giving the gift of access to gardening to folks who wouldn’t otherwise have it, we share one of the most profoundly transformative gifts imaginable.  For many a gardener there’s almost no greater feeling then to share a skill, tool, piece of land, or even just a nice conversation that will help another gardener grow.  Minneapolis is a giving and green city.  As a gardener and volunteer, there’s never a shortage of great organizations here that I can get involved with in order to share the gifts gardening can give. 

Gardening Matters, a Minneapolis based non-profit agency has been busy organizing several social service providers city-wide in order to help them work together in the garden.  Many local agencies such as Waite House, Sabathani Community Center, and Youth Farm and  Market Project have been working to increase Minneapolis residents’ access to gardening for decades.  Gardening Matters plan is to link up all these great organizations along with local gardening volunteers and businesses to create Garden Resource Hubs that residents in need can access for garden classes and information, planting space and gardening resources. 

Gardening Matters is working with activists, businesses, and neighbors from across the city in order to have the resource hubs up and running by the spring of 2011.  In the meantime, this month’s issue of The Seed will introduce you to a few of the grand gardening groups getting together to give their green gifts through the gardening resource hubs.  If you’re a gardener with some time to give, you may consider a donation of your expertise and elbow grease to some of these great organizations.  Click here to find out more!