With boost from McLaughlin
Hilton helps create community garden One area woman is determined to plant the seeds of the value of community gardens.
The raised beds and sprouting greens at 26 Lincoln St. in Uniontown are for everyone, she says.
“Nobody really understands what a community garden is. It’s like having a garden in your yard,” said Rebecca Hilton, coordinator of the project. “You use it like that, just to come and plant. You can put your own products in and then you share as a group whenever there is anything to be had. When something is ripe and ready for harvest, it’s shared equally.”
Hilton, a resident of the Little Brownfield section of South Union Township, said she tried to find a farmers market in Uniontown last year. When she could not find one, she began searching for someone willing to help organize one.
In the meantime, she recognized a need to encourage people in the area to grow their own food.
“In Columbus (Ohio), I helped with a city garden there. They had over 20 there,” she said.
Hilton also noticed a city garden in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“It’s a popular thing,” she said.
In April, Hilton spoke with Jeff McLaughlin, Weed & Seed program site coordinator and Elm Street program manager with the Uniontown Redevelopment Authority.
“He wanted the garden, and I did, too,” Hilton said.
McLaughlin invited Hilton to attend a meeting of the Gallatin Avenue Concerned Citizens Association to discuss developing a community vegetable garden.
“There was a grant that was for a park in that community. Jeff said they hadn’t got around to doing the park. I brought this up to the (concerned citizens group). They did agree to let the money be used for the garden instead of the park,” Hilton said.
In May, the concerned citizens group agreed to use the lot on Lincoln Street for the garden.
When two loads of donated topsoil and the lumber were onsite, Hilton spread the word to residents within the block.
“We included that this was their garden to get produce from and work. It’s for children, middle-aged to grown-ups to the elderly without energy or stamina to have their own garden. They can advise us and tell us what they think should be happening,” she said.
A day to clean up the lot was held May 22. Residents, Boy Scouts and families of sponsors have since shared in the responsibilities of preparation.
The following Monday was the first workday. Two families arrived to help and began building the raised beds for plants.
Recently, McLaughlin arranged for youths to have the opportunity to do community service work at the garden through the Fayette County Office of Juvenile Probation. There have been as many as four juveniles working at the garden at one time.
“They’ve been sunburned, sweating and dizzy in the 90-degree weather, but they’re good workers. They have a wheelbarrow, shovels, and weed (trimmer). They have planted. They have done everything. They feel connected almost,” Hilton said.
Currently, the garden has nine beds containing pepper, hot pepper, watermelon, tomato, Brussels sprout, cabbage, sunflower, pumpkin and corn plants, and there is room for more.
“It’s very new, and what we’re hoping for is a fall crop, and we’ll be able to have a late season,” Hilton said.
The garden will be as close to organic as possible, with no chemicals. Hilton hopes to begin a compost pile and to collect rainwater onsite.
In the future, the garden will be a place for people to sit and relax, Hilton said. Her vision includes an archway to an enclosed area with a bench and flowers.
Hilton told of an experience she had working in a city garden in Columbus, and she said she looks forward to similar experiences on Lincoln Street.
“While I was getting ready for a festival, a woman happened to walk through with two little girls. The little girl picked a cucumber and was so excited that she could eat it right from the bush. I bet they will remember that for a long time. As an older girl, she might want to have a garden. What I want for here is the impact of just one person to be motivated or to have a memory here,” she said, smiling. “I’m thinking it’s going to be a child.”
With no fence or gate, the garden is open to the community at all times. The regular activity hours are Mondays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
For more information, call Hilton at 724-322-5938 or McLaughlin at 724-438-4287 or contact him by e-mail at elmstreet@uniontownredevelopment.com.