Community gardens invade Oberlin

A unique collaboration in Oberlin has united The Artist Formally Known as Prince, ESP, and a number of vegetable gardens. Rumors that Elvis was planning to make an appearance could not be confirmed.

Odd as it sounds, the project is really very down-to-earth. College senior Rachel Dannefer was an Assistant Coordinator to the project. Over the summer Dannefer and other students interns built gardens to provide food for low-income families.

"We want to create more food self-sufficiency for people. To do that we have been creating individual gardens, as well as the community ones. Second Harvest Food Bank has been giving away seedlings to low-income people," said Environmental Studies Program (ESP) Coordinator Brad Masi.

Masi and Dannefer explained the value of the gardens and how they were given away. "It is estimated that these gardens can produce $300 worth of fresh nutritious food, and these gardens are literally given away. This project connects people to natural growing cycles," said Masi.

"People were eligible for gardens in their backyards without qualification. It was all word of mouth," said Dannefer.

The gardens produced vegetables such as carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, onions and potatoes at Head Start Centers, El Centro Youth Center, Harrison Cultural Center, Eastwood Elementary and Brown Helm United Church of Christ.

"In some instances we had a lot of community support," said Dannefer. "Headstart was really fun. We planted with the kids and Eastwood also had a lot of community involvement."

The Eastwood garden was used as a learning tool for the elementary students. With the help of Oberlin College students, the kids themselves, parents and church groups all pitching in to cultivate and maintain the garden. This weekend they will be building a straw-bale tool shed at the school. Volunteers are still needed and welcome.

"This project is a kind of sister project to the new environmental center," said Masi. Over the summer, community gardens were growing all over the Oberlin area to combat hunger and address local environmental issues.

Dannefer explained some of the hard work involved with establishing the gardens. "After building a wooden frame to make the raised beds and digging up the ground we had 3 1/2 yards of top soil and manure delivered for each garden," said Dannefer. She also mentioned that Lorain County Community Garden Coordinator Phil Hendrickson was instrumental in the project.

The community gardens came about as a collaboration with the ESP, the Ohio State University Extension Office and the Second Harvest Food Bank. "Basically this program grew out of an effort called Grow Lorain County. What we have been doing is developing a whole program that addresses hunger, economic and local environmental issues," said Masi.

Several organizations such as Love for One Another, a foundation supported by The Artist Formally Known as Prince, and Nord Foundation donated grant money to Lorain County Community Garden Project to aid in the creation of new community gardens throughout Oberlin.

Volunteer Fair: Students took out time from studying to show their altruism. (photo by Elizabeth O'Brien)