Local church youth groups help at Hernando Community Garden
Youth from Second Baptist and Christ Community churches in Hernando joined forces Saturday, May 29th at the Community Garden. After thinning plants, weeding and planting cherry tomatoes in the garden, the kids enjoyed a little football on the lawn adjacent to the garden.
“All work and no play” was not the case! Kids had fun playing catch on the lawn at the Gale Center
Caleb Wilcke, Christ Community Church, Minister Marcus Massie (back row) along with Brianne and Leyah Williams thinning out the peas
Leyah Williams, age 7, is so fond of fresh tomatoes she even asked for a tomato plant for Christmas this past year!
Hernando Community Garden – Planting Day, April 29, 2010
Parks Director DeWayne Williams and his staff had everything ready for volunteers who came to plant tomatoes, okra, peppers, cabbage and other vegetables for the 2010 planting day at the Hernando Community Garden on April 29th. Irrigation, landscaping, water fountain, benches and walkways have been installed and decorative fencing will be completed within the next couple of weeks. These enhancements were made possible through grant funds and private donations. Getwell United Methodist Church supplied the plant and seeds for the 2010 spring planting!
There were several families with young people among the 25+ volunteers who spent a little more than an hour setting out tomato plants, four varieties of peppers, okra and cabbage on Thursday afternoon. Earlier that day, 60 children from Hernando Head Start made their first visit to the Community Garden and the students brought along radish and cabbage sprouts they had grown at their school for planting in their own special part of the garden.
This year, youth groups from seven local churches will work together in the Community Garden in teams. Each team will distribute produce from the garden to area residents who have limited access to fresh, locally grown produce.
GARDENS IMPROVING ACCESS TO LOCAL PRODUCE
HERNANDO COMMUNITY GARDEN
Planting Day at the Hernando Community Garden is Saturday, April 24, 2010.
The garden is located on the east lawn of the Gale Center at 2601 Elm Street.
The Hernando Community Garden was born following a brief conversation in January 2009 between DeWayne Williams, Lycia Callahan and Judy Belue about the benefits of a hands on project to would inspire local residents to raise and enjoy local produce. Williams, the Parks and Recreation Director, immediately embraced the idea and things quickly began to take shape when he volunteered a plot at the Gale Center adjacent to an area where Hernando’s lowest income residents live.
Following an invitation to area residents, a meeting with 21
people was held and a planning committee established. The first year garden was planted in early
summer 2009 on a plot at the Gale Center (approximately 100 x 175 feet) with a
wide variety of produce including corn, melons, beans, peas, cucumbers, peppers
and okra. Youth working summer jobs for
Hernando Parks and Recreation were involved in helping tend the garden and a
training session for them by Dr. Joy Anderson was held.
Residents of Hill Street, a low income community adjacent to the garden plot, were encouraged to pick produce from the garden. After initial reluctance and uncertainty, several families did begin to pick produce which for at least one family was a primary source of food through the summer.
Current garden committee includes:
Chair, Clay Wallace, owner of C &C Gardens in Hernando
DeWayne Williams, Hernando Parks and Recreation
Judy Belue, Get a Life
Lycia Callahan – Kiwanis of Desoto County
John Heard – local gardener and civil engineer
Bettye Taylor – local resident and former educator
Melissa Zizzman – Hernando Parks and Recreation
Dr. Joy Anderson, MS State Extension Service
Elaine Abadie, Desoto Arts Council
Dr. Michael O. Minor, Healthy Congregations board chair and local pastor
Honorary members – Mayor Chip Johnson and Alderman Andrew Miller who is also a local pastor
While the initial garden was planted with volunteer labor
and a few donations by committee members,
the group has subsequently received a $4,000 planning grant
through MS Dept of Health and a grant of $1,250 from the Desoto County
Community Health Council to enhance and expand the project in the second
year. The garden area will be enhanced
with a bench, landscaping and a water feature to make it an inviting place for
the community.
Shelley Johnstone, Community Development Director for the City of Hernando, will assist with promotion of the garden project.
DeWayne will seek to engage youth from nearby 2nd Baptist
Church in the garden project. Healthy
Congregations will sponsor a Saturday morning breakfast meeting for pastors of
all nearby congregations 
to enlist their involvement and support. The goal is to get youth groups from
congregations located near the garden project to assume responsibility for one
week each of community service by delivering vegetables from the garden to
local residents with limited access to fresh produce.
Produce will also be delivered to the Crawford Coleman Estates Assisted Living Center and the Inter-Faith Food Pantry. Providing Community service and skills to grow local produce will be additional benefits for youth involved in the garden project. The garden project is part of a plan Williams is drafting to establish an after-school program for local youth.
Contact: DeWayne Williams at kane6612@gmail.com or 901-634-8487 (cell)
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF CHARLESTON MS GARDEN CLUB
Kids at the Boys & Girls Club of Charleston went to work immediately when two raised beds were installed at their Clubhouse in time for spring planting in 2008. Seed packets were provided and most of the children had their very first experience with gardening as they planted carrots and lettuce. Even the teens got involved in tending their garden. When tasting day came, almost every kid at the Club lined up to sample the baby carrots!
According to Unit Director, Nedra Jackson, Club kids really
loved taking care of the garden and sharing their produce with family
members. The second year, they expanded
by planting several rows in the ground surrounding their two raised beds and
the kids officially dubbed themselves the “So Fresh, So Green” Garden Club.
Just like the research shows, involving kids in the growing process really enhances their willingness to try fresh produce and teaches them the value of locally grown, nutritious foods. The teamwork and sense of accomplishments are also valuable by-products of the project, Jackson says.
Contact: Nedra Jackson – 662-826-6744 or nedra_l_jackson@yahoo.com
OAK HILL BAPTIST
CHURCH GARDEN MINSITRY
When the Pastor and Health Ministry co-leaders decided a garden ministry at their church was a good way to give people more access to fresh vegetables and to encourage health eating, they didn’t waste much time! The help of a nearby farmer was enlisted to plow a plot behind the church and soon squash and tomatoes and okra were sprouting. A “Taste Test” Sunday was planned to feature fresh produce cooked with healthy recipes to which the congregation responded positively!
With soil lacking in nutrients and the fairly isolated location of the church property, the garden ministry was moved to a better location in its second year where long time gardener, Bro. Charles Wilkinson, has agreed to oversee the project. A much more bountiful crop resulted from this move and the garden ministry is now well imbedded in the church’s work. Plans are underway for a recipe book containing good southern cooking with healthy substitutions for fat, sugar and lower salt.
Contact Dr. Michael O. Minor – 901-826-8355 or mominor@msn.com