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| Project Name: |
West Davenport Center Community Garden
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| Project Purpose (Include city and state): |
The purpose is to provide a Community Garden in Northwest Davenport, Iowa on the campus of the Eastern Iowa Community Colleges/Scott Community College West Davenport Center, 2950 N. Fairmount, Davenport, IA 52806. Eastern Iowa Community Colleges purchased seven acres of farm land in 2010 for the West Davenport Center with plenty of space to expand the campus in the future. The Community Garden will be located in the fertile farm soil between the new Scott Community College West Davenport Center and Fairmount Library Street. With easy access to water, and assistance from the Iowa State Extension Service, we are looking forward to bountiful crops.
Our campus sits next to the Fairmount Library, a part of the Davenport public library system. Together with the library, we are an integral part of the neighborhood and the city as a whole. A community garden would provide an additional opportunity to partner with the library to provide programs for the clients of both organizations as well as area residents.
Community gardens teach life skills such as self-reliance, organization, goal-setting and follow-through, and team work. Community gardeners gain a sense of accomplishment when they start a garden in the spring and see it through to fruition in just a matter of months. They learn tangible skills of producing fresh vegetables and preparing them for the table or for preservation. They learn about soil conservation, water management, composting and other gardening methods that they can share with their families, friends and neighbors.
Other potential benefits of a community garden are numerous:
* It could provide space for an outdoor exercise class.
* It would provide opportunities for classes on nutrition and fresh food preparation.
* Students could donate produce to food banks.
* Students may learn basic business skills if they want to sell the produce at a farmer’s market.
* Participants can be introduced to sustainable gardening practices and organic gardening.
To insure a successful gardening experience we plan to offer classes in gardening and plant propagation classes will be held prior to the gardening season..
In the Cultural Kitchen participants be introduced to a variety of fresh vegetables. They will taste the produce, learn to prepare nutritious foods, and safe food handling. Hands on food preparation classes will be offered in the Cultural Kitchen in the West Davenport Center, such as Cooking from the Spring Garden, Grillin’ in the QC, Grill the Harvest Bounty, What to Do with All the Garden Produce, Cast Iron Cookery, Power Woking, and Salsa Camp.
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| City: |
Davenport
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| Project Location: |
Davenport, IA
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| Project Website: |
eicc.edu/wdccommunitygarden
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| Target population and how they will benefit: |
The Scott Community College West Davenport Center, serves about 1,700 students ranging in age from teens to people older than 60. At the Scott Community College West Davenport Center, we offer a nontraditional school environment that serves an adult population from diverse backgrounds. The West Davenport Centers Programs include English Language Learning, High School Equivalency, Adult Basic Education and Continuing Education Courses. A community garden would be an ideal way to bring our students and the community together. We continually seek to provide programs that enrich our students’ lives, and we believe a community garden would be an excellent project to help our students build valuable life skills.
The benefits of a community garden are a wonderful fit with Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s commitment to wellness and innovation. Studies have shown that gardeners have healthier diets and get more exercise than non-gardeners. For lower-income families, gardens may be their only access to fresh vegetables. We intend to use a garden on our site to teach our students creative ways to achieve healthier lifestyles.
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| Why your project deserves the funds: |
The students are truly low income, nearly 60 percent of the students are unemployed or are not in the work force, and nearly one in four receives public assistance. Gardens may be the only source of fresh vegetables for these low income families.
Currently the Community Garden property is fallow farm land. It needs to be developed into a garden area. It will need to be plowed and will require items such as tools, hoses, fencing and seeds as well as instructional staff. The Scott County Extension Service Community Garden staff estimate that it will cost fifteen thousand dollars to develop the Community Garden. The Scott Community College West Davenport Center will provide oversight, and facilities.
Our goal in starting a community garden at the Scott Community College West Davenport Center is to build a sense of camaraderie among our students, faculty and staff. We also want to play a central role in our neighborhood and be a great resource for Davenport residents. With a garden, we can establish a safe, inviting gathering place that is both productive and beautiful. We can teach our students skills that will last a lifetime and help them engage with the larger community. With the help of Wellmark, our campus can build a garden that would encourage healthy lifestyles for many years to come.
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| Project Timing: |
October 2014-January 2015: Schedule the Community Garden Activities including the Garden Plan, Gardening Classes and Propagation Classes
February 2015: Promote the Community Gardens, Gardening classes and Propagating classes.
March 2015: Prepare the soil.
March/April 2015: Offer Gardening and Propagation Classes
April 2015: Plant seedlings of cool-season vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. Plant seeds of cool season vegetables such a lettuce, spinach, greens, peas, and radishes.
May 2015: Plant seedlings of warm-season annual vegetables, such as tomatoes, peppers , eggplant, green beans, cucumbers, squash, melons, corn and herbs.
June-October 2015: Cultivate, Water and Harvest; Offer Cultural Kitchen Cooking Classes
October 2015: Participants and staff will review and evaluate the 2015 Community Garden Project and make recommendations for future garden projects.
Plan for the 2016 garden season
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| State: |
Iowa
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| Organization Name: |
Eastern Iowa Community Colleges
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