Permalink for this paragraph 0 The first sentence in the Trinity College Without Borders mission statement reads, “Our VISION is a world in which the communities we serve have the capacity to sustainably meet their basic human needs…” What better way to teach the community to be self-sustainable than to develop a community garden? As the Community Garden branch of TCWB it was our goal to create a self-sustaining community garden for the area. Last spring we had our grand opening. With the help of the community, we built several raised plots that were then distributed to the community. Community members grew everything from tomatoes, to squash, to watermelon.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 Moving forward, we have set our sights on taking the community garden to the next level. We are looking to partner with the Knox Park Foundation, a well respected organization here in Hartford with a similar mission, “to work in partnership with residents, businesses and government to build stronger, greener and more beautiful communities”. By partnering with Knox Park we hope to further legitimize our garden as a source of pride for the community that is here to stay. We are also looking to partner with the Hartford Boys and Girls Club as well as the Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy. By getting youth groups involved we hope to educate the future generations on the options they have to eat healthy as well as plant their own source of food. For this year’s opening day we will add a bench as well as mulch for the surrounding area in the hopes of making the garden even more appealing to the community. Lastly, and maybe most excitingly, we are in the process of developing a fully working hydroponic system (an indoor gardening system). We understand that a problem the Hartford community faces is the shortness of the growing season. By developing a hydroponic system we give the community a viable option for the rest of the year when outdoor gardening might not be possible. With one portion of the system already built, we are confident in the future success of the system.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 We are off to a very promising start, and are committed to further grow and develop our community garden as a tremendous source of pride for the area. We have worked very hard to get the garden to the state it is in today, and will continue to make further advancements to make the garden a viable option to “sustainably meet their basic human needs”. Over the past year we have created a community garden on Trinity College’s campus to provide an inexpensive way for families to have access to healthy food. Throughout the summer families grew squash, tomatoes, beans and other types of produce. We are currently planning to add more raised beds to the garden to increase our growing capacity. We also plan to add more of an aesthetic appeal to garden so that it can serve as a centerpiece for the surrounding community.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 Please visit our garden next to the Trinfo cafe!