Community Garden Network

The Community Garden Network has been a partnership of organizations in Athens that meets to collaborate on School and Community Garden Projects. The group meets quarterly and is comprised of the UGA Dept. of Horticulture Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful, UGA Cooperative Extension, Athens Community Council on Aging, and Athens Land Trust.

The Community Garden Network (CGN) was formed in 2010 when the Athens Land Trust (ALT) received a three-year grant from the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA).  As a result of this grant a network of fifteen community gardens were established in low-income communities throughout Athens-Clarke County.

The network also includes twenty two school gardens and two major “hub” gardens that serve as demonstration and teaching sites. The mission of this program is to provide healthy, nutritious food for low-income families (including children, the elderly, and minority populations) by providing opportunities and support for them to grow their own.

Partners

Keep Athens Clarke County Beautiful

KACCB is a nonprofit organization housed within the Athens-Clarke County Solid Waste Department/Recycling Division. The mission of KACCB is to educate and empower citizens and businesses with the resources to take action as environmental stewards of litter prevention, waste reduction, and beautification. KACCB can help you borrow tools from the Community Toolshed, recruit volunteers, and find a site for a new garden.

School Garden Network

Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful is the chair of the School Garden Committee, a sub-committee of the CGN which promotes and engages the community in school gardens. Those engaged in gardening on school property can find support and resources by visiting the school garden webpage, joining the school garden listserve, and contacting KACCB to be connected to the resources they need to maintain and use school gardens.

UGArden

This student organization is dedicated to the management of a 4-acre garden located on South Milledge Avenue, on university land formerly dedicated to sheep and hog farming. The garden began as a simple idea to provide a place for students to learn to raise food and promote sustainable gardening. The garden currently features fruit plantings, bee hives, green walls, medicinal herbs, a high tunnel and a woodland mushroom demonstration area.

Athens-Clarke County Extension Office

The ACC Extension Office provides research-based education in agriculture, horticulture, the environment, families, and 4-H/youth using a combination of resources from The University of Georgia, Athens-Clarke County, and the USDA.

Our Community Gardens

Read more about some of  our community gardens below.

Currently under construction 2020, this garden will benefit the residents of the 4th Street Village.

This garden started in 2020 as several raised beds giving residents there opportunity to grow their own food and spend time in the outdoors gardening.

With the corporate sponsorship of US Lawns and the help of many volunteers, a community garden was established at the Athena Gardens Retirement Community in March of 2012. Residents of Athena Gardens cooperatively share responsibility for managing their fourteen 4′ x 20′ raised beds and regularly enjoy the harvest of their garden through communal meals prepared in the facility’s kitchen.

Guided by volunteers, the Athens Area Homeless Shelter Community Garden provides an opportunity for families to see where their food comes from, to experience local and fresh produce, and to participate in gardening activities throughout the year. To sign up for volunteering with the AAHS and their lovely Community Garden, please visit: http://helpathenshomeless.org/home/volunteer.

A once-abandoned parking lot is now home to 18 raised containers in which produce is grown for ACCA’s Meals on Wheels, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, and other programs. Produce from this garden goes to Center for Active Living (CAL plus) participants, especially the Garden Club members.

Started in 2020 this large space has many raised beds as well as a high tunnel and room for inground production. A group of local Winterville residents intend to allow opportunity for use as a therapy garden as well as food production.

With over 10 years of history under its belt, the Mae Willie Morton Community Garden of the Brooklyn Neighborhood is widely recognized as one of the oldest community gardens in Athens. The garden, formerly located across the street from its present location, now thrives upon the site of a razed drug house which the Housing Authority donated to the neighborhood in 2006. In a place where undesirable activities once were rampant, now flowers and vegetables grow rampantly.

One Community Garden is a partnership between Young Harris Memorial UMC and Action Ministries created to mobilize the local community into utilizing untapped, sustainable urban resources. The garden is located in the front lawn of Young Harris Memorial UMC at 973 Prince Ave. For those interested in volunteering, having a space to garden, or just visiting, contact Drew Hooks at dhooks@actionministries.net or garden@yhmumc.org

Managed by a committed group of volunteers this garden primarily grows food for local food pantries and kitchens that serve those in need.

With the support of Master Gardener Brendan Nordgren and Pinewood Library’s Branch Director Aida Quinones, Master Gardener Helen Kuykendall and ALT’s Stephanie Bergamo coordinated and led a Junior Master Gardener Golden Ray Series program. More than 40 Pinewood youth received Certificates of Recognition in the program and the group of young gardeners as a whole, known as the Pinewood Green Rangers, received a Certificate of Completion.

Located in the back of the Rocksprings Community Center, these raised beds are accessible to the many children that use this center for after school activities allowing a hands on experience as well as see how the food they eat grows.

This garden provides seasonal produce for the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen. The Salvation Army is currently accepting individual volunteers to help weed, water, harvest, and plant, as well as volunteer groups for new and ongoing projects. Please contact their office directly for volunteer opportunities and/or a tour: 706-543-5350.

Built in 2020, this garden will be connected to the West Broad Farmers Market and sits on 1.2 acres. The site is 4 former homesites owned by the Housing Authority. Unlike the West Broad off Minor Street, this is strictly a community garden where currently 9 residents have raised beds that are high enough not to have to bend making it a more back friendly gardening experience where residents grow their own food. There are also perennial fruit and nut trees and shrubs, a herb garden and pollinator garden.