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Community Garden Project

Community Garden Project

Marmora, NJ

Community Garden

Industry: community

Approach: waterfall

Project Length: 6 months

Project Team: church members, volunteers, project manager

January 9, 2023

June 30, 2023

Vision

 

To build a garden from the ground up that will serve as a community garden.


Strengths

 

The projects strengths come from the church's support, united culture, wide range of skills, and the specific interest of select members.


Opportunity

 

Increasing church member interaction and building connections in the community are the most important opportunities.


Threat

 

Volunteer projects are unpredictable as is gardening. The projects is heavily dependent on volunteer time, attainable materials, fundraising/donation, and weather.


Weakness

 

The church membership largely consist of retirees who would only be able to participate in tending an already cultivated garden. The remaining portion of the membership is limited to late evenings and possibly Sundays.


Project Scope

 
  • solicit interest for building a community garden

  • plan the layout and contents of the garden

  • collect materials for building a garden

  • coordinate building days

  • plant

  • cultivate

  • harvest


Project Approach

 

The waterfall approach was used for this project. After each completed milestone, the next milestone and its tasks were evaluated and adjusted to realistically proceed. There was less restriction on time spent on tasks to preserve the nature of unity and the spirit of giving back.


Results

 

The garden project was a success. The church laid the foundation for a community garden and produced several crops: kale, tomatoes, radishes, dill, mint, and peppers. A 12x8 U-shaped main bed was constructed for the church members to plant and cultivate, while 6 elevated 4x2 beds were purchased for community members to adopt. The garden has a storage shed, manual sprinkler system, and a rain barrel.


Evaluation

 

Community involvement was stifled due to delays in church board approvals, volunteer availability, and insufficient engagement. Those interested had other interest or commitments by the time the garden was ready. The delays also cut the growing season for those who wanted to adopt a bed.


The plans for next year are met with enthusiasm as church members have been excited to have a garden and are sharing insights. Next year's project will consist of winterizing the garden in October, registering members of the community for the 2024 growing season in January, preparing the garden by starting seeds and tilling, installing gutters to the shed for efficient collection of rain into the rain barrel, adding walkways with pavers, and adding florals,











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