Local church offers community youth garden
Nicci Lund has always loved to garden.
So, after Sunday School one day several months ago, she suggested the youth start a community garden at First United Methodist Church, 111 N. Broad St., in Elkhorn.
“Several of the kids said they would love to have a garden here, so I went to the parents,” said Lund, who works as youth director for the parish.
The parents agreed to the idea, as did the parish’s board of trustees.
On Saturday, the idea became a reality as about 15 children and parents met Lund in the church’s back yard to plant a garden. About 10 more people dropped donated plants and materials for the garden. Jackson’s Do It Best Hardware donated pallets for the project.
The 200-squre foot garden will hold fruits and vegetables. There will be tomatoes, strawberries, herbs, green beans, sweet peas and pumpkins.
“We are also planting flowers along the backside of the building,” Lund said. “It sounds like someone is actually going to be donating a picnic table, so people can kind of relax and enjoy the garden too. We are pretty excited about the project.”
A mosaic garden welcomes visitors to the area. The children also planted a “sunflower teepee,” a small circle of sunflowers that can surround them as they sit and read books.
Families have signed up to care for the garden during the week.
“It’s going to be pretty much a youth-run project, with a little help from adults here and there,” Lund said. “Ages really range from 5 or 6 years old up to teens.”
The plan is to have a harvest for the entire community.
Produce will be available later in the summer after the 10 a.m. Sunday service. A freewill offering for the youth program can be given in exchange for the fresh food.
The garden and its produce are open to all; people do not need to be church members.
“It will bring the community together. It helps people who might not be able to afford produce otherwise, and it’s teaching the kids great skills of how to plant and grow their own food. We thought this would be a really great thing for everybody,” Lund said.
