A community garden takes hard work, dedication, perseverance – and often, a lot of volunteers. But most of us are unaware of these incredible organic garden projects right in our own neighborhoods and the work they’re doing to bring fresh food to their local communities.
Since 2010 Nature’s Path has been celebrating and supporting these community gardens who are making such an impact through our Gardens for Good program. Over the last ten years Nature’s Path has been honored to support 30 incredible organic garden projects and the wonderful work they do.
Applications open February 5th 2021 and this year we will support 21 garden projects with the $5000 each!
As we launch another year of Gardens for Good, we thought it would be fun to get in touch with a couple of our past Gardens for Good grant recipients about how they put their grant dollars to good use.
The YAM Project
“With our Gardens for Good grant, Youth Agriculture Mentors (YAMs) gained experience planting regenerative gardens and mentoring other youth to develop and strengthen their skills and knowledge as leaders of new garden projects.
The YAM team also cultivated a large vegetable garden at Ecole Secondaire Hanmer and preserved some of the produce to be used in the cafeteria as well as donating some to an emergency food program for people without homes. And we conducted a pilot project for a new social enterprise that will provide edible forest garden planning and landscaping services to homeowners, with profits to be reinvested in creating more employment opportunities for youth.”
Garden Joy
“Many tasks were completed using the funding, including: installing irrigation, pathways and planting areas, planting summer vegetables, bulbs, and flowers, reinforcing our greenhouses with decomposed granite foundations to protect them from weather, building shelving for greenhouses, installing vertical planting areas, laying weed cloth, and producing and donating over 2,000 pounds of vegetables along with fresh flowers to our local community.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of gardens can apply?
Check the Terms and Conditions to check your garden’s eligibility.
If I won a garden grant in the past am I eligible to apply again?
Unfortunately past garden winners are unable to apply and win another grant. However, if you know any other organic community garden in need please let them know of our grant so they can have the opportunity to apply!
How are the garden grant winners selected?
To select the winners, we consider the number of votes your garden receives (during the voting phase) and the degree to which your garden application meets our 3 criteria (through an internal evaluation) as outlined in the rules & regulations.
For more details regarding the Gardens for Good program check out the step by step application process along with eligibility and winner selection below.
We can’t wait to see all the applications and support to these incredible organic gardens that are truly making a sizable different within their communities. Good luck and happy planting.