Minneapolis Community and Neighborhood Gardens: A Guided Tour

Nothing says summer like fresh produce. Nothing says "green" like growing it yourself. But what about those of us that live in an apartment in a major metropolitan area such as Minneapolis? The answer is surprisingly simple: community gardens.

What is a community garden you might ask. A community or neighborhood garden is a plot of land, in varying size, that is worked by a group of people for either individual or joint results. They come in beautification, youth and produce bearing versions.

In my quick guided tours, I am going to take you to one of each type of Community Garden in Minneapolis.

First, we are going to the Artstop Garden on 3201 Chicago Ave S. This garden was created by the Parkside West Block Club (winner of the 2008 Police Building Blocks Award) in 1991 from a trash filled lot into a peaceful garden. The goal was to create a feeling of serenity through the interactions of sculptures, flowers and trees. By taking this lot under their wing, the neighborhood has created a green space that creates pride in the neighborhood which in turn prevents crime.

The other type of Neighborhood Garden is a Youth garden, such as the JT Blaisdell Community Garden on View Larger Map">2609 Blaisdell Ave S in the Wittier Neighborhood. This garden is a place where urban youth can experience hands on farming. They learn to care for the Earth as well as their own families nutrional needs. They also sell the produce from their gardens in local Farmers Markets, thus learning important business skills. Youth gardens such as this ensure that the next generation understands where food comes from and how to tend the land. Without such places, these city dwelling juveniles could loose these very important self and world care lessons.

Finally, there is my favourite type of Neighborhood Garden... the food bearing one. The 32nd st Communty Garden on 3201 29th Ave S is an individual lot based garden. There are 8 lots on the 40'x50' land. Each lot "owner" must live within one block of this garden and it is for food growing only. The wonderful aspect of the distance restriction is that you truly get to know your neighbors. This joint, local gardening effort not only helps the environment but public safety as well.

One of the most comprehensive directories for Community Gardens in the City of Minneapolis is Gardening Matters.

There are many benefits to establishing and maintaining a garden, even when living in an urban setting. Eating within the seasons, especially fresh food is the healthiest way to fuel our bodies. Growing our own food eases the carbon footprint by not transporting out of season food from thousands of miles away. We must not forget the added public safety benefit of knowing your neighbors.