Our Community Garden Needs Tending
The Franklin Court Community Garden is a great example of community building in a microcosm of society across social, class and racial/ethnic identities. The garden has been open since 2009 and currently serves nearly 30 Cambodian, Lao and Burmese families as well as youth from the nearby YWCA youth center, and helps them grow food to off-set costs and and to grow community with additional neighbors (1st block party coming in June!) in this area of the Acre.
Lowell Alliance staff and gardeners are asking the community to help us raise at least half of our projected cost for upgrades to our community garden – one of the only green spaces in a small densely populated neighborhood of the Acre, but also one of the earliest community gardens in Lowell! We recently went through Mill City Grow's Garden Coordinator Leadership Institute inspiring us to improve garden infrastructure and facilitate an empowering experience within and for the community.
Food access is a economic and social justice issue.
In his TED talk, Rod Finley tells us
"Growing your own food is like printing your own money."
Proposed Improvements:
$25 - Locks and keys for the gardeners - if we're successful in replacing the fence!
$50 – Staff time to coordinate with local artists and youth groups:
- Create and install garden art on front and back fences.
- This could include artist contributions of numbered placards on garden beds
$50 - Install signs “Franklin Court Community Garden” over entrance or on front fence. Signs will include some multi-lingual information in at least English, Khmer, possibly Burmese, Lao, Spanish. If we have space we will add community events and information to the board.
$60– Staff time to coordinate garden projects:
- Shore up/improve on front garden (flower) bed
- Wood chips in the main pathway
- Rebuild or replace compost bin and create signs
- Remove green fencing and replace trellises (formerly a mattress spring) on right side
$80 – We can purchase a rain barrel from the Lowell Department of Public Works.
$125 – Materials to repair/rebuild 5 garden beds. We partner with CTI’s Youth Build!
$400 - Install new picnic table, 1-2 new benches
$500 – Neighborhood Summer Solstice Block Party in June!!
$800 – Assess and either rebuild or repair the shed and replace needed tools. Possibly tear-down and build new shed or replace it.
$3000 - Install 6 ft. chain-link fence with locked gate. Option B – complete wood fencing on left side.
If we exceed our goal on CauseVox for more than $2,500 you will be helping us toward our goals for fencing and allowing our energy to be spent less on fundraising and more on building relationships with our neighbors!
Lowell could be considered a United Nations City with its history and continued trends of immigrant and refugee resettlement. Soon the Lowell Public Schools will see more than half of their students coming from families speaking a language other than English at home.
Lowell Alliance was formed in 1996 to prevent child maltreatment through community development and to ensure systems are informed by resident experiences for equitable and just service provision. Our mission continues to be to support residents to access information and build skills and connections to make change in their communities. Visit our website for more on our programs and activities.
