Photo: Jessica Scott | The Grand Rapids Press
St. Jude’s Ranch for Children is launching a new community garden project and needs our help!
Volunteers are needed on Saturday, June 30th from 8-11am that morning to help build brick garden beds, prepping the soil, spreading gravel, and adding trees and other plants. No experience or tools needed and it’s open to all ages. Full details are HERE, minors do need to be accompanied by an adult.
St. Jude’s has partnered with Green Our Planet, a Southern Nevada non-profit to create a community garden and everyone in the community is invited to participate! That means if you’ve wanted your own vegetable or flower garden but don’t have space where you live, you can rent a plot here, for a donation to cover water and upkeep expenses.
The youths at St. Jude’s will tend their own garden plot, learning to grow their own crops, which studies have shown to be very beneficial for youngsters who might not be able to have this experience otherwise.
St. Jude’s received a grant from board members Gard and Florence Jamison to help fund the initial building expenses for this project.
When we spoke to Executive Director Christina Vela at St. Jude’s Ranch, she explained that for now, they’re trying to judge the community’s interest in how many plots locals might want to have. She says the current plans can easily be expanded if there is enough interest from the community in having more plots available for rent, beyond this initial build.
People interested in renting a plot should contact Steven Bennet, the Retail Operations Manager by email at: sbennett@stjudesranch.org.
So if you’ve got a green thumb or just want to help out, or give a youngster some possible community service hours, this looks like a great project!
