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Our Mission
The Muskegon County Health Department Substance Abuse Prevention Program’s mission is to increase protective factors and reduce risk factors for substance abuse in our community, enabling all of us to thrive and prosper in a drug-free community. Our challenge is to contribute to neighborhood vitality and stability through collaboration and educational programs. We accomplish this mission through joining with community groups and other organizations to provide the resources and knowledge that enable them to develop productive gardens and landscaped areas on public land. We also work with area schools and institutions of higher learning to bring gardening programs into the classroom, providing children with community growth opportunities through gardening.
Project PRIDE
Michigan State University Extension
Michigan Conservation District
Muskegon Conservation District
Who We Are
Community Gardens are growing on the Muskegon County Governmental South Campus. Plots for growing fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers are cultivated, planted and harvested by community members. Veteran gardeners provide “tricks of the trade” with beginners and advanced gardeners, alike (Community Garden Workshops, MSU extension workshops). We work closely and collaboratively with other gardens growing throughout the county. Join us in our mission of growing healthy youth and a healthy community through gardening.
Building A Community
We create change in our community, making it safe, beautiful and a good place to congregate. The simple act of planting a garden can create positive environmental, economic, and social impacts on a neighborhood.
The garden is a place where cultural understanding and an awareness of the environment surround us. Community gardens improve the quality of life for people by providing a catalyst for neighborhood and community development, stimulating social interaction, encouraging self-reliance, beautifying neighborhoods, producing nutritious food, reducing family food budgets, conserving resources and creating opportunities for recreation, exercise, therapy and education. All of this and more.
Our garden and those of our neighbors are designed to include all ages and types of people. Youth, in developing the assets needed for success, need to work alongside families in a supportive community that sets high expectations for them if we want them to grow up risk free in today’s world of drug and violence exposure. According to drug prevention research, substance abuse prevention is a whole community project. As active members of the garden, kids will develop a more positive sense of self, resistance to negative peer pressure, and increased trust and communication with adults. Check out the gardening experiences some kids around the nation have had after reading "Seedfolks," a novel by Paul Fleischman and find out how Mr. Fleischman was inspired to write this story on community gardening (From Seeds to Seedfolks).
Come Join Us
Join us in our garden and join us in our collaboration meetings on the third Thursday of the month at 5:00 pm in the County Governmental Complex Training Building, 2nd floor. This year, our gardeners, instructors and supporters begin all meetings with a potluck feast, often sampling fare from our latest harvest!
Watch What Happens
Inner cities can become worn and tattered throughout the years. Some residential areas grow large numbers of single parent families living amidst high rates of violence, and drugs. The opportunities for resources in these neighborhoods are limited, but many neighborhood residents are coming together to form coalitions to better their neighborhoods and their lives. Many neighborhood groups are forming community gardens in vacant lots, These community gardens are a great way to get both children and adults involved in beautifying the neighborhood community while working with nature, building assets, eliminating risk factors and building protective factors for “Livable Communities.”
See What Other Places Are Doing
Gardening Workshops
In conjunction with the 2007 Community Garden, skill-building workshops led by Master Gardeners and other local experts are also available. These workshops are open to anyone; however, space is limited. Donations in any amount are welcome to cover the instructors costs for materials. Sign up by calling (231) 724-1211.
Additional Information
Garden Orientation (pdf)
Guidelines & Rules (pdf)
Plot Application (pdf)
Community Garden Workshops (pdf)
MSU Extension Workshops (pdf)
Plot Worksheet (pdf)
Twelve Good Reasons for Community Gardens
Community Gardens:
- Benefit everyone by creating safe and healthy recreational activities within the neighborhood.
- Encourage individuals to be part of a community that shares the efforts and benefits of gardening and provides volunteer stewardship opportunities.
- Provide skill-building and positive recreational opportunities that are accessible to a diverse range of people of all ages who take responsibility for organizing and managing the garden area.
- Foster youth participation in community building and volunteer activity.
- Beautify public spaces, help restore natural areas and encourage communities to spruce up everywhere.
- Revitalize and reclaim vacant spaces that may have been subject to vandalism and illegal activities. (Livable Communities).
- Are great outdoor classrooms, laboratories and field trip destinations for school and home-schooled students, scouts, families and organizations.
- Produce healthy accessible food for the gardeners and the entire community when shared with schools, food banks, shelters and other hungry people.
- Are urban green spaces that provide oxygen, cooling shade and welcome community oases for meditation, recreation and relaxation.
- Improve the quality of life for gardeners and the communities in which they garden.
- Are economical, practical and enjoyable sites that contribute to community building while producing friendships, flowers and food.
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Partners
- Muskegon County Pride “Muskegon Youth… Leading the Way"
- (View Garden Seeds, a newsletter published by the Muskegon County PRIDE Youth Programs)
Provides LifeSkillsTM prevention program to 580 inner-city youth who attend Orchard View, Muskegon and Muskegon Heights Schools and the YMCA. Other components of the program include adult mentoring, PRIDE performance, community service projects, public service announcements, communication skills, and drug and violence prevention. – Tim Brown.
Contact
For additional information about the Community Garden program, please call (231) 724-6350.
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