Tom and I have been volunteering at a new community garden, named St. Catherine Victory Garden, at our parish, St. Catherine Laboure in Sappington. Organizer Deanna Violette compared the challenges of recent history to World War II, when people grew extra produce to support the nation through a trying time.
The St. Louis Review has published an excellent article that explains the goals and benefits that the new garden provides. Read about it here: Parish gardeners aim to share healthy food with pantry
At the end of this blog post are scans of the printed article.
Several organizations within the St. Catherine Laboure parish are collaborating on the garden, with support and knowledge from the following outside regional organizations:
- Gateway Greening
- St. Louis Jewish Community Center – here is information on their Garden of Eden.
- St. Louis Master Gardeners (through me, so far – I’m a Master Gardener and I wore my orange volunteer shirt, seen in the second picture below) who are affiliated with Missouri Botanical Garden and the University of Missouri Extension
On Saturday, I’m scheduled to volunteer at another community garden affiliated with Gateway Greening, Fresh Starts Community Garden which is led by Rosie Willis and affiliated with the North Newstead Association in St. Louis, the Regional Business Council and possibly others.
Photos from volunteering at Fresh Starts Community Garden – click right arrow to scroll through.
A blog post I wrote after our last volunteer session at Fresh Starts – Community Gardens, Health, and Food Security
When we as a society are tested with hardship, the kinds of leaders I want to follow are those who bring Americans together rather than separating them into opposing factions for the divide-and-conquer type of political power. I will be continuing to help at both gardens with whatever work is needed at the time I volunteer and also special projects that I’m taking on. I’ll be writing about these activities on my blog as they happen. I’m looking forward to a summer full of sharing, teaching, learning and growing!
