For a nominal fee, participants in the program receive basic resources for their garden, including seeds and Detroit grown transplants. Participants also become part of a growing network of community, school and family gardeners and garden advocates working to promote and encourage urban agriculture and community gardening across the city. Through participation in this larger network, gardeners gain access to additional resources, technical assistance, and educational opportunities.
In 2009, over 263 community gardens, 55 schools, and 557 families received support from the Garden Resource Program. Through the program, participants received 48,554 seed packets and approximately 209,346 DETROIT GROWN plants and successfully produced thousands of pounds of food in the city.
Urban Agriculture Education and Training
Gardeners never stop learning. Each year is an opportunity to try a new variety, a new technique, and for many, to try gardening for the very first time. To encourage and support continuous learning for gardeners of all skill levels, the Garden Resource Program offers an array of educational opportunities to gardeners.
URBAN GARDEN EDUCATION SERIES
With classes ranging from basic gardening and pest management to advanced composting and season extension, the Detroit Urban Garden Education Series offers over 50 workshops each year. These hands-on workshops, taught in gardens across the city, provide gardeners with the experience and skills to transform urban spaces and backyards into thriving, chemical free and productive gardens.
With over 70 varieties of fruits and vegetables distributed throughout the season, even the most experienced gardener may need some guidance with how to properly plan, grow, harvest, store and cook the fruits of their labor. Each year, the Detroit Urban Garden Education Series offers a series of cooking and food preservation classes aimed at turning the abundance of garden fresh vegetables into nutritious, tasty, and easy to make meals for families.
To encourage and support thriving community and school gardens, the Garden Resource Program Collaborative offers a number of comprehensive educational opportunities which not only facilitate skill building, but also provide complementary resources, technical assistance and leadership training to build the capacity of the gardeners and their projects.
URBAN ROOTS
Each winter, the Urban Roots Community Gardening Training Program provides training to community leaders in community organizing and horticulture skills. During this 9 week, 45-hour course, students also build a foundation of knowledge, tools and leadership capacity from which their gardens will blossom.
KEEP GROWING DETROIT
Spurred by the market demand for more local produce and many gardeners’ desire to extend the Michigan growing season, the Keep Growing Detroit Season Extension Program teaches gardeners of all skill levels to understand the basics of season extension and provides gardeners with the appropriate tools to extend their season.
SWEET ON DETROIT
The Sweet on Detroit (SOD) Urban Beekeeping program is a series on hands-on workshops designed to introduce gardeners to the art of beekeeping and assist them in developing the skills they need to create and maintain thriving urban bee hives.
Garden Resource Program Cluster Centers
Participants of the Garden Resource Program are invited and encouraged to participate in one of 8 garden cluster groups, which are based on geographic region within the city of Detroit, Highland Park & Hamtramck. Cluster groups facilitate community connections for gardeners and urban farmers living and working in the same area of the city and provide local access to additional resources offered through the Garden Resource Program. During the season, each cluster group meets for an additional resource meeting, a spring and fall community workday, and a summer barbeque. By participating in one of these cluster events, gardeners become eligible for additional resources (such as tilling, soil testing, compost, wood chips, mulch, weed fabric, tool sharing, volunteers and more!).
The Garden Resource Program has grown over the last 6 year from 80 gardens in 2004 to 875 gardens in 2009. With this growth comes gardeners of all skill levels, diversity of interests and goals for their urban garden and farm projects. The Garden Resource Program Collaborative facilitates the creation and development of “workgroups” made up of leaders within the Garden Resource Program to ensure our programming continues to grow to reflect the needs and interests of the gardeners.
DETROIT FARMERS’ MARKET WORKGROUP
Begun in 2006, the Farmers’ Market Workgroup created and continues to be the decision making body for the “Grown in Detroit” cooperative. The workgroup meets on a regular basis throughout the season to perfect the cooperative’s system of setting prices, recruiting and training new growers, streamlining market days and ensuring the much sought after “Grown in Detroit” produce gets to the city residents who need it most.
COMPOST WORKGROUP
The Garden Resource Program’s Compost Workgroup is a leadership team of gardeners working to help create a more sustainable and local source of soil fertility. The Compost Workgroup’s efforts focus on maintaining a demonstration community composting system, diverting tons of waste from Detroit’s municipal waste stream, hosting classes in the Education Series on composting topics, and offering technical assistance to community, school and family gardens on starting their own compost piles.
DETROIT BEE CLUB & WORKGROUP
The Detroit Beekeeping Club, a group of Sweet on Detroit
Bee-ginner graduates and other advanced beekeepers in the Garden Resource Program, engages beekeepers to continue to build their skills through hands-on workshops and educational opportunities and to connect with other Detroit beekeepers throughout the season. The Detroit Bee Club also mentors Bee-ginner bee students through “Bee Buddy” sessions, sharing their skills and experience to grow the network of beekeepers in the city.
Job and Volunteer Opportunities
DIG IN DETROIT
Throughout the season, ‘Dig in Detroit’ provides opportunities for groups and individuals to volunteer in Detroit’s urban gardens. As seasonally appropriate, volunteers assist with garden preparation, planting, harvesting and special projects such as sign making and building compost bin building. In addition to the appreciation they receive from the gardens they are supporting, volunteers also have the opportunity to learn first hand through their service about the thriving urban agriculture community growing in Detroit. For more information on volunteering contact Lindsay Turpin at 313-285-1249.
URBAN AGRICULTURE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM
In Detroit as well as across the nation, urban agriculture and community gardening programs are growing. To sustain this growth, the Greening of Detroit’s Urban Agriculture Apprenticeship program, provides an opportunity for the new generation of leaders to become well-rounded urban growers, organizers and educators. For information on the apprenticeship program, contact us!
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