Personally, I’ve never been big on growing my own food. Perhaps, that’s because the foods I like to eat (M&Ms, Snickers, Doritos…) you can’t grow. The idea of growing my own food does intrigue me though, and there are plenty of people who do it. One of them is a wonderful woman I met by chance several years ago. Her name is Madonna Brock.
She had a dream at the time to not only grow her own food but to help others grow also. It was not to be her garden though. It was to be a community garden.
Community gardens are nothing new. Since the late 1800s vacant lots in urban areas have been utilized to provide opportunities for people to grow their own food; however, interest in community gardens has dipped and peaked many times since then. There was a resurgence of interest beginning in the 70s as grassroots efforts turned vacant lots into fertile urban gardens in an attempt to stem urban decline.
These efforts have continued to this day buoyed by an interest in healthy eating, the local food movement, and of course, just saving money.
This modern community gardening movement had not really ever taken hold in Mansfield when Madonna first stuck her shovel in the ground at Atherton Avenue in 2008. Her idea was to build it and they would come. So that’s what she did as she began building the garden compost pile by compost pile. And they did come, but she was surprised by who it was.
It was the children of the neighborhood. At first they were just curious, but a few stayed to help, and some even became regulars.
And so a movement began. Though Madonna might deny any noble thoughts of starting a movement when she dug her first bed, a community gardening movement has indeed started here. Inspired by Madonna’s efforts and bolstered by the outreach efforts of the North End Community Improvement Cooperative (NECIC), there are now seventeen community gardens in Mansfield, along with several others in the surrounding communities such as Shelby and Ontario.
The outreach work of NECIC has been instrumental in this growth. They offer small grants to individuals and groups, and they have positioned themselves as a resource hub for individual and community gardeners. They offer tools, seeds, and supplies mainly to residents within their targeted north end area but their educational outreach is open to anyone. These include a weekly email newsletter, monthly programs, and the annual Richland Grows event each winter which offers inspiring lectures from expert gardeners and an expo of garden related booths.
This Saturday, Aug. 16, people will have an opportunity to tour some of Mansfield’s community gardens. Called the Tour de Fleur, it is sponsored by NECIC and Richland Moves. There will be two walking tours, one short, one long, and a biking tour.
The event is free and all tours leave from NECIC, 199 N. Main St. at 1 p.m. Participants are asked to register at the NECIC offices from 12:30 – 1 p.m. There will also be food available for purchase at one of the gardens. For more information or to pre-register, call the NECIC at 419-525-3101 or email Madonna at Madonna@necic-ohio.org or visit their website.
Whether your interest is in starting a community garden, growing your own food, or just a nice hike or bike ride, the Tour de Fleur this Saturday should not be missed.
What you will see though are not just gardens, but proof that from little things, big things grow.
