Community gardens provide a variety of benefits — fresh vegetables, pollinator plants that attract bees and butterflies, and a great opportunity for people to enjoy gardening and being outdoors.
A 2022 Support Grant from Impact San Antonio to the Green Spaces Alliance of South Texas provided funding for improvements to six community gardens in San Antonio. The gardens are members of the Alliance’s Community Gardens Network.
The Support Grant-funded improvements have helped the gardens better engage with their communities, said Grace Carlin, Urban Land & Water Program Manager for the alliance.
The six gardens and the improvements funded by the Support Grant are:
— CIELO Community Garden – Brush composting and the purchase of a saw and lumber to build garden beds for new immigrant and refugee families.
— Fairweather Family Lodge – Construction of a pollinator garden and monarch butterfly waystation to engage with single mothers and their children.
— Gardopia Gardens – Construction of a deck for educational woodworking classes to teach community members new garden-related skills onsite.
— High Country Community Garden – Leveling of garden walkways, which were then filled in with crushed granite to allow children and people with mobility challenges to safely access the garden.
— Labor Serena Community Garden – Installation of drip irrigation lines in all garden beds to reduce labor by senior gardeners.
— Mission Library Community Gardens – Redesign of the drip irrigation system to keep plant beds and trees thriving through periods of drought.
The gardens have different purposes, Carlin said. CIELO, Gardopia, High Country and Mission Library are primarily vegetable gardens, while Fairweather and Labor Serena are primarily pollinator gardens.
But there’s a common thread among them all.
“Each of these six gardens serves vulnerable populations, including but not limited to low-income households, seniors, immigrants and refugees, and children,” Carlin said. The gardens directly benefit more than 350 gardeners, and an additional 1,000-plus visitors and volunteers enjoy them each year, she added.
Those who work most closely with the gardens are especially appreciative of the Impact SA grant.
“In 2022, Gardopia began construction on the Healthy Gardens Makerspace,” said Dominic Dominguez with Gardopia Gardens. “Now, with the assistance of the Impact SA Support Grant, we have created a 16-by-20-foot wood deck for wood workshop classes.
“The public will learn, design and build urban architecture-related structures that will increase their ability to grow fresh fruits, vegetables and livestock in the urban core. From raised garden beds to chicken coops and composters, this state-of-the-art facility will be available for the community in what once was the back of a high-crime vacant lot.”
Carlin praised Impact SA for the work it does in the community.
“The funding that Impact San Antonio awards enables nonprofits to provide a greater volume of high-quality services to their clients,” she said. “The positive outcomes of these grants will be felt throughout the community for years to come.”
