By Maureen McNamara Best

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In my years in Roanoke and in other communities, I continue to be awed and humbled by the people and groups who are passionate about and committed to community-based projects. In my work with LEAP, these community-minded folks lift my spirits and help me keep moving in spite of the barriers, obstacles, and limited resources that can make community work feel impossible. 

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When I started with LEAP in 2013, one of the first organizations I met was the Roanoke Community Garden Association (RCGA). LEAP and RCGA worked closely as part of community collaboratives focused on food, health, and community like Healthy Start and Healthy Roanoke Valley. In late fall 2019, RCGA reached out to LEAP about their plans to dissolve the organization and to brainstorm ideas for what to do with the existing community gardens. RCGA learned that it is hard to fund, maintain, improve, and provide staffing support for community gardens. There is often the most interest in the start up of gardens and less interest and funding for maintenance, programming, and staffing. 

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LEAP wanted to help support the years of community work that launched and maintained these community gardens. In 2020, LEAP acquired the gardens with a hope for the future and a commitment to the community. We wanted to continue the important role of community gardens in our community and local food system. Community gardens are communal spaces where people can come together to grow, learn, and share. They create public green spaces and bring a splash of color and beauty to urban environments. They give people access to explore the benefits of nature and create habitat for beneficial insects, such as pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. 

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In 2020, LEAP took on the garden operations to maintain and support the gardens (communications, financials, volunteer management, staff support).  We decided to close or transition a couple gardens/potential gardens that did not have good infrastructure, support, and/or long-term potential. We focused our time and resources to continue working with three community gardens– in Hurt Park (now owned by LEAP), Mountain View (leased from the City of Roanoke) and Morningside (leased from the City of Roanoke). We have invested heavily in a number of maintenance projects (fences, shelters, bed construction, groundhog prevention), plot realignment and expansion, and building neighborhood-based relationships with each of the three gardens. 

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The community gardens continue to grow and change in partnership with our community of neighbors, gardeners, staff, and volunteers. For two years, we worked closely with the Hurt Park Neighborhood Association, community organizers, neighbors, and long-time Hurt Park gardeners to envision, plan, and implement improvements to the Hurt Park Community Garden. Now, this expansive garden is humming with activity, gardeners and neighbors harvest from the communal plots and fruit trees, community members host yoga and gardening events, individuals and families grow plants they choose (dent corn, amaranth, cabbage, tomatoes), and kids play in soil and explore new tastes. The “free produce shed” at Hurt Park allows gardeners and the larger community to share excess produce and plant starts with their neighbors and neighbors get to enjoy garden grown tomatoes, squash, and more!

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The Morningside Community Garden, co-located with the Carilion Urban Farm, in Morningside Park, has plots large and small. This garden is integrated into the immediate community, with many people walking to the garden to tend their plots. The infrastructure projects here were extensive (fence, plot redesign, shed, and garden expansion) and we are still working on additional projects (improved access, shade structure, more communal plots). We love working together with Carilion’s Urban Farmer, who tends some of the empty spaces to grow extra produce to be donated through Carilion community nights at the farm.  

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The Mountain View Community Garden, co-located next to the Fishburn Mansion/Mountain View Recreation Center, is a splash of color and beauty between West End and Grandin Village. Community members and neighbors often walk through this garden, have lunch under the pavilion, and enjoy a swiss chard snack from the “bar-den” communal raised bed. The garden beds have been made, repaired, and maintained thanks to years of volunteer work from Eagle Scouts, Home Depot, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and others. The seed packet public art was beautifully painted by local students. 

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As time has passed, these gardens have taken on lives of their own. They bring the neighborhood together in a mix of long-time and first-time gardeners, visitors and admirers, and people and critters. The gardens create spaces where people gather and learn from each other, often sharing tips, a helping hand, or fresh-grown goodies. And they’re just a lovely place to spend a little time. The gardens are open for everyone to walk through, so we hope you’ll visit and admire the hard work from the community!

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If you’re interested in learning more about our gardens or getting involved, please reach out! Everyone is welcome to volunteer to help with garden maintenance. Want a plot of your own? Garden registration opens in late winter.  

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