Kalamazoo has a wealth of community gardens and a special event is planned to let people know just how much growing is going on.
"Garden Hop" is an awareness-raiser and celebration of the number and variety of gardens across the community, says Paul Stermer, executive director of
Fair Food Matters. At least 24 gardens will be part of a tour and scavenger hunt, taking place across town from August 10-20.
For the scaveger hunt, anyone who correctly answers 12 questions about local gardens will be entered into a prize drawing.
During 2009 and 2010, Fair Food Matters worked with other community partners to organize similar garden tours. This year, however, the event is supported by Common Ground, a program that combines the resources of Fair Food Matters, the Kalamazoo County Land Bank, the Kalamazoo Nature Center, and MSU Extension/Master Gardeners.
Common Ground supports community garden projects throughout Kalamazoo County, placing a special emphasis on those serving low-income residents.
A complete list of participating gardens and a link to a Google map to find them
is here. Guides for the "Garden Hop" will be available on the Common Ground website beginning Aug. 10.
"Our hope is that people will enjoy seeing the wealth of community gardens we have locally -- there will be at least 24 gardens on the tour, and that number barely scratches the surface of the total," says Stermer. "It's likely that gardeners will exchange tips on growing food and building community, and it will be nice for like-minded folks to take just a little time away from their own gardens to network with other green thumbs."
The Garden Hop is made possible through donations from
Old Dog Tavern,
People’s Food Co-op and
Wenke Greenhouses.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Source: Paul Stermer, Fair Food Matters
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