Get A Plot!!

“The Grant Community Garden (located at 2245 Northeast 36th Avenue) is scheduled to open in June and will provide over 35 new plots.  Plots are assigned on a first come, first served basis.  Once all the plots are assigned, a waiting list for this garden will be started.  The plot sizes are 10’x10’ and cost $21 per year or 5’x10’ and cost $10 per year.  ADA accessible raised beds cost $20 and are available for those with physical limitations. Scholarship assistance is also available. 

To reserve your space at the new Grant Community Garden, go towww.portlandparks.org and type Garden Plot Request Form in the search box.  Complete the online form and you will be automatically added to the list!  If you do not have Internet access, call the Community Gardens office at 503-823-1612 for assistance.

Gardening will begin at our opening event on June 2nd!

COME TO OUR GRAND OPENING!

Mark your calendars, because the Grant Community Garden and Learning Garden will be celebrating their grand opening  at the garden site on June 2nd, from 11:30 to 1:30! 

More details to come, but this is the time when those assigned plots in the garden are welcome to begin their gardening. Additionally at the event there will be a ribbon cutting, noteworthy speakers including County Commissioner Nick Fish, a BBQ (with veggie options), Grant student band performances and fun crafts for kids.

Come join us in this family-friendly celebration of sustainable living, stay tuned!

Community Garden Progress

We are proud to announce that the Grant Community Garden has seen enormous progress in the last couple of weeks. Portland Parks and Recreation will be responsible for the maintenance and plot assignments of the Community Garden in the future, and they have recently begun to assume an active role in the project. They have removed the sod, graded the area, inserted the irrigation system and installed temporary fencing.

Meanwhile, the Garden Leadership Team has been finalizing our plans for the Learning Garden which is now our central project as Parks & Rec. has now taken the reigns for the Community Garden.

Many thanks to GreenWorks Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design for being wonderful partners and resources for the garden projects. Check out their post on our project here:

Looking ahead, we are excited for our grand opening ceremony in early June. Stay tuned for updates on that front.

Enjoy the sun, don’t forget to get out and garden!

Successful Raised Bed Construction

On Saturday February 18th dedicated volunteers and members of the Grant Garden Leadership Team braved the cold weather to construct eleven raised beds for the school Learning Garden. They are made of cedar wood and are lined with plastic, permeable liner for water filtration. There is one ADA accessible garden bed and ten other boxes of varying widths and lengths. These beds will be utilized in many of Grant’s future classes and curriculums, including the Special Education, Japanese, Biology and Agriculture departments.

Check out our hard work on northeast corner of the front lawn of Grant High School!

Town Hall Meeting

Come learn about the Grant Gardens Project!
Join us as we host a town hall meeting to discuss the development of the Grant High School Community Garden!

Where: Grant High School Library
When: Thursday, February 16th, 6:00 – 7:00 PM

There will be representatives from Portland Public Schools, Portland Parks & Recreation, and Grant High School to speak about the development of the Gardens.

All are the invited to join the discussion!

Grant Garden Raised Bed Construction Delayed

This an an announcement that unfortunately we will not be constructing the garden’s raised beds this weekend, 01/14 or 01/15. This is due to an unforeseen error in the lumber order and availability. Instead, we will be building the boxes within the next four to five weeks. If you are interested in giving us a hand during this future construction day, stay tuned for the date and please let us know of your interest.

In other news, today we had a very beneficial meeting with the Nutrition Services Program Leader Melissa Martin and are excited to develop a strong partnership with our school’s cafeteria when the School’s Learning Garden begins yielding a harvest.

Thank you for your support, and we hope to reschedule our building project as soon as possible.

New FAQ Page

Check out our hot-off-the-press answers to some of the most common questions we have received so far. If your question is not addressed there, we would love to answer it individually for you. Please feel free to contact us at ghscommunitygarden@gmail.com or attend our Town Hall meeting on February 16th at 6 PM and ask us in person.

Unexpected Tree Removal in Garden Area

Several weeks ago, Grant Garden Leadership students and advisers alike were surprised and shocked to see that the tree located in the soon-to-be Community Garden site was removed. The Grant Garden Leadership class and planning group was utterly unaware of this event until it already occurred, largely because school had already adjourned for Thanksgiving Break.

Please let us stress that we had included the tree into all of our Community Garden plans and that it was never a part of our plan to remove it. In fact, we had planned on using the tree as a central sitting area for gardeners who wanted a short rest from their work.

It is our understanding that this tree was struck by lightning or otherwise damaged in one of the storms in early November. PPS then took action, without the Grant Gardens Project’s knowledge, to remove the tree because it was a safety hazard and could not recover from the damage. While we were disappointed and saddened to hear of the tree’s removal, we understand that this action was taken in order to keep the Grant campus safe for all users.

The Grant Garden Project’s goal is to promote sustainable and environmentally friendly actions in our community Because of this motto, we would never support the unnecessary removal of a tree. This is a very unfortunate event, but the Community Garden will continue in its planning and is looking forward breaking ground in the new future.

Presentation at City Council

In October, we presented City Council for “Food Day”! We presented in front of the Mayor and city commissioners! That probably has to be one of the biggest accomplishments we have ever made! Exciting right!? Last week, we started putting our intelligent brains together and started coming up with ideas on how to build our garden; we’re getting lots of soil and making a lot of improvements. We would like our preparation for our garden to be done by spring; we’re working on buying soil, plants, and building a greenhouse. If you want to see photos just browse our wonderful community garden website!

 

The Nurture Your Neighborhood aftermath

Haven’t blogged in forever! Well let me get you readers updated! The Nurture Your Neighborhood event was a major success! We all couldn’t believe how many people were so willing to show up and support us. We had lots of delicious foods, wonderful refreshments, classy silverware, good entertainment, fabulous guest speakers and many more! Thank you again State Farm for presenting us with a gigantic check! $50,300! Can you believe it!? We always thought big checks were presented on T.V., but I guess not! We also would like to thank the Royal Blues for performing and keeping our audience entertained; you guys have lovely voices. Thank you Ms. Orlen, Mr. Street and our other important guests speakers for being our speakers and for making all this happen, our class most definitely couldn’t do it without you guys! And our audience, thank you for clearing your Saturday to help support us and making our event happen! And Royal Blues, thanks for keeping our audience entertained, you kept our audience alive! Because the Nurture Your Neighborhood event went really well, we’re taking charge and building our garden right now! We hope our garden will last for a long time even after we all graduate. We’re ready to get this garden growing! Thanks again for everyone who showed up!