Phoenixville is getting a very exciting addition soon…our own community garden! As someone who grew up in a farming community, this news couldn’t be more exciting to me. I had the chance to ask Jessica Sanchez about the new project, and get the details on the process and status of the new botanical addition to the community.
Where did you get the idea for a community garden?
The idea for a community garden came about last fall. The members of Seventh Wonder are very conscious of what we eat and try to buy local and organic food in an effort to be healthy and support local, small farms. We noticed a lot of urban community gardens popping up around Philadelphia and the positive impact they were having on the community. We wanted to bring that to our town.
Where will the garden be?
The garden will be located on the north side of Phoenixville off Fillmore St. and is actually a portion of Reservoir Park.
Will it be a collective whole space, or individual plots for people?
The garden will be set up with individual plots for garden members. Because of the size of the site we will have a shaded, public area within the garden wall and a garden learning center. Seventh Wonder will host by-monthly workshops, teaching people different gardening techniques.
How can the community get involved?
The community can get involved by contacting me at [email protected]. We have plenty of work that needs to be done from building the garden plots/glass bottle wall to passing out fliers and collecting donations for our fundraiser!
What will you be needing to start the project?
The ball is rolling! We started last week with a cinder block drive. We have so far collected 100 cinder blocks and 130 landscaping blocks. We have committed to building this garden out of 100% recycled and repurposed materials so it has zero negative impact. We are using cinder block to build raised bed garden plots and a portion of the fencing will be a glass bottle wall. The fence itself will be compost.
We need more cinder blocks! Our goal is 360. We will also be needing fencing and garden tools. We are asking community members to donate supplies and when the time comes, get out and help us build.
Has the feedback from the community been positive so far?
We are getting awesome community feedback. We’re so inspired by the number of people who have reached out to help us, including the Borough council who gave us the land!
When do you hope to get the project off the ground?
We hope to start building the plots on May 15th. We will be working all summer to put up fencing and collect supplies for the garden. We hope to have some really cool artwork within the garden walls made out of scrap from the old steal factories. The Garden will be officially open to the public in the Spring of 2013.
Are you doing fundraisers? If so, when is the next one?
Our Fundraiser will be June 2nd at PJ Ryan’s Downstairs. We have local bands performing and donations from local businesses to raffle of to all attendees. Tickets will be $10, and everyone will receive 2 raffle tickets upon entry and option to buy more at the door. We will be raffling off prizes donated generously by local businesses.
Where can the community get more information about this project?
We are posting all activities to our Seventh Wonder Facebook page. Community members interested in getting involved can email me at: [email protected]
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