In 2018, the Crossroads Community Garden Committee formed with the goal of creating an outdoor community hub. We started by visiting other community gardens in the city throughout the summer months and gathering ideas that we could use for our own space. Our momentum really picked up when we received the $5000 Parks Foundation Stella Conceptual Drawing Grant for landscape design. With this money we were able to hire a landscape design company (ReGenerate Design) to put our ideas on to paper.
In 2019, the Crossroads Garden committee organized multiple community engagement events and meetings with key stakeholders. We were sure to all ages and levels of gardening experience to weigh in on the future outdoor space. From those ideas, we were able to create a design that would benefit community residents and groups that would be using the space.
From there came our big challenge – fundraising. However, by May 2021 we were able to reach our fundraising goal of over $150,000 and construction began in June. Finally, in September 2021 our community garden was completed, and we were able to hold a grand opening celebration event. We are now looking forward to welcoming our first group of garden bed renters!