Hillside Paradise Parking Plots Community Garden, Kent
Since 2016, King Conservation District has been partnering with World Relief to create a community garden on an acre of parking lot donated by Hillside Church at 930 East James in Kent. The garden will be open for public use and easily accessible by over 1,000 immigrants and refugees settled in the area by World Relief. Having a place to grow fresh, healthy, culturally relevant food is the goal of the Hillside Paradise Parking Plots Community Garden.
After creating a small demonstration project of 5 planted stock tanks, Hillside Community Garden has leveraged KCD’s Seed Money Grant into over $125,000 in additional grants, hundreds of volunteer hours from community supporters (including T-Mobile, Turner Construction and the 30/30 Project) and resource donations (from Cedar Grove Compost, McLendon Hardware and The Home Depot). In just over one year’s time, Hillside moved from concept to a viable community garden with 44 garden plots seeded with cover crop and awaiting gardeners for Spring 2018 planting.
CitySoil Farm, Renton
CitySoil Farm is a 1.5-acre learning and giving garden located at the King County South Treatment Plant in Renton. KCD, King County Wastewater Treatment Division, Tilth Alliance (formerly Seattle Tilth), and DIRT Corps are collaborating to develop the farm to demonstrate the potential for more community food projects across King County.
CitySoil Farm incorporates the successful use of GroCo™ compost made with Loop® biosolids and reclaimed water for urban agriculture. The farm also provides volunteer and community education opportunities to expand knowledge of soil, food, and agriculture.
Sea Mar Community Health Center, White Center
In October 2017, KCD worked with Sea Mar Community Health in White Center to create a hügelkultur container garden which, along with other raised beds located on the property, provide teaching opportunities about healthy eating.
St. Columba/International Rescue Committee Community Garden, Kent/Des Moines
KCD facilitated the volunteer efforts of over 40 National Student Leadership Conference attendants to lay cardboard and mulch in a large area in preparation for planting an orchard at International Rescue Committee’s community garden in Kent/Des Moines.
The St. Columba Community Garden is sponsored by the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) New Roots program with land made available by St. Columba Episcopal Church in Kent. There are 35 garden plots available to IRC clients many of whom have recently immigrated from the Congo, Bhutan and Latin America. IRC’s New Roots program focuses on food access and the nutritional needs of families upon arrival in the U.S., and builds on the agricultural experience of many new refugee and immigrant families by providing access to land, materials, and education for program participants to grow healthy food.
New Start High School Shark Garden, Burien
New Start High School is an alternative high school program in the Highline School District. Most students attending the program struggle to maintain positive attendance, behavior and progress toward high school completion. The Shark Garden was started in 2015 in an undeveloped adjoining lot where a summer program allows students to earn high school credit by combining math curriculum with landscaping/gardening lessons.
The garden also is home to 53 community garden plots (including 20 which are ADA accessible), a greenhouse, berry and fruit forest and an outdoor teaching space. A majority of the food raised at Shark Garden is donated to the White Center Food Bank.
Through KCD’s Urban Agriculture Program, Shark Garden received a donation of 10 yards of Loop(R)-based compost and 25 pounds of cover crop seed to amend the soil and help keep nutrients in place over the winter months.