notes & works

Glenwood Community Garden at Steelman Park

As I think about design that is both sustainable and that builds community, a community garden is a perfect fit. Glenwood Community Garden at Steelman Park is Greensboro's first community garden. It was started in 2007. It is funded by a grant from North Carolina's Eat Smart Move More Community Grants program secured by the Reach for Health Unit of Guilford County's Department of Public Health. Partners in the project include the Glenwood Neighborhood Association, North Carolina Cooperative Extension - Guilford County, Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department, Greensboro Water Resource Department, and Grace Community Church. The garden is comprised of 30, 20' x 4' raised bed plots that are rented and maintained by residents of the neighborhood. This site was chosen because it is in a historic neighborhood that was becoming run down, contained a high rate of rental properties, and contained Steelman Park that was viewed as unsafe by community members due to drug and alcohol use that took place there (http://acga.localharvest.org/garden/M1813). Glenwood Community Garden aims to make the park safer and more utilized by the community, beautify the neighborhood, promote community through social interaction, increase physical activity and fruit & vegetable intake, provide a sense of self confidence and self reliance, and reduce food cost for participants. The garden benefits the larger Greensboro community by giving 10% of the food produced to the Servant House that feeds local hungry families. In August 2008, the Greater Glenwood Neighborhood Association won the Greensboro Beautiful Annual Award for Neighborhood Service as a result of several projects including this community garden. I visited the garden and saw that most of the plots are planted and growing and there are flowers and vines surrounding the fenced in garden area. There is a playground area nearby where children were playing. These signs indicate to me that the garden has been successful in involving the community and returning the park to children. This garden, and community gardens like it, have great potential to build community, affect health, and improve quality of life, things that good design should always aim to do.

Laura Snoderly

Sources:
www.guilford.nc.us/blogs/dph/?p=249
http://acga.localharvest.org/garden/M1813