Providing Extension Programming through Community Gardens
Horticulture & Turfgrass
John Porter
Extension Educator/Assistant Professor
Nebraska Extension
Omaha
Abstract
Community gardens are emerging as a tool for individuals of various economic means and geographic locations to produce food for their families. This phenomenon is no doubt linked to current economic issues and an interest in locally produced wholesome foods. Extension professionals from nearly all programming units can harness community gardens as a tool for providing excellent programming to target audiences. \r\nIn Kanawha County, West Virginia community gardens were brought together by WVU Extension Service to form a county-wide association. The gathering of all of these diverse groups not only allows extension programming to be efficiently delivered to one large group (as opposed to many small groups), but allows for the development of leaders and advocates from the underserved populations extension strives to reach. \r\nCommunity gardens can be amazing agents of change and are places where essential education, innovative leadership and good deeds come together. In Charleston, one man mentors children of incarcerated parents through gardening, extension master gardeners teach others about gardening while producing over 3000 pounds of produce for a soup kitchen and an abandoned pool and mini-golf center finds new life as a community center garden. Community gardens are about much more than growing sunflowers and radishes, they are about growing communities, growing leaders and growing the future. By harnessing this potential, extension can be the guiding hand of this growth and reach a broad spectrum of clients from numerous underserved populations.
Authors: Porter, J.E.
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Porter, J.E. Extension Agent, WVU Extension Service, West Virginia, 25304