Follow these simple steps:
1. Click on the map (at right) of the garden to view the plot numbers and their locations. Click on the Plot Size Chart to view the sq. footage of each plot.
2. Download and print the 2012 Rules and Responsibilities Agreement. Review and sign this form.
3. If you rented a plot last year and would like to renew your lease for the 2012 season, please download and print the Lease Renewal Form. To guarantee your renewal, forms are due by March 1, 2012.
4. If you are a new gardener, download and print the standard Lease Agreement Form. New plot rental applications will be accepted starting March 2, 2012.
5. Choose your plot (or renew your old plot), check the appropriate rental fee**, and sign the application.
6. Download and print an "Optional Items and Services" form if you would like to pre-order delivery of soil amendments (compost or mushroom soil) or request tilling of your plot. These options are being provided via Beechwood Gardens.
7. Send your signed Rules and Responsibilities Form and your Plot Rental Application along with your check payable to the CLDS to: Center for Landscape Design & Stewardship, c/o Jim Walck,
**If you prefer to pay by credit card, click on the Pay Pal button below and make note of your name and plot # request in the special instructions.
You will still need to mail in your signed rule agreement and application form.
8. You may direct any questions to CLDS Director and Plot Rental Coordinator Jim Walck at 788-4181, or walckj@ptd.net.
Inquire today if you would like help starting a community garden in your neighborhood.
ABOUT THE BUTLER TOWNSHIP "HUMAN NATURE" COMMUNITY GARDEN
The Butler Township "Human Nature" Community Garden is a 1.3 acre community and demonstration garden that was established in the Spring of 2009 within the Township’s Freedom Park complex in Drums (399 W. Butler Drive, just behind the Valley East Little League Field). The garden is operated and managed in partnership with the CLDS.
CLICK TO SEE A LARGER PLAN OF THE GARDEN AND VIEW THE PLOT SIZE CHART!
The garden includes 60 rental plots that may be leased for the season by individuals, organizations, or businesses. It also includes a large children’s garden that is the focus of youth education programs. Raised beds are available to accommodate elderly individuals who are not up the physical challenge of bending down to tend their plot.
Educational workshops and community events are also hosted within the garden and at the nearby Rec Center building. Once we raise enough funds to get a gazebo, we will also sponsor a "Music in the Garden" program.
In the spring of 2011 we began planting several demonstration gardens, including an herb garden, butterfly garden, fruit gardens, perennial garden, and a rain garden, as well as other demonstration features that will teach people how to compost and reduce water consumption.
WHAT IS A COMMUNITY GARDEN?
A lively and beautiful setting for socializing, education, and exercise: A place where people of all ages and backgrounds share their knowledge and discoveries by turning the soil in tandem.An old idea in a new economy: As produce costs soar, Americans are recognizing the value of the “new age” victory garden.
According to studies conducted by Burbee seed company, growing your own vegetable garden “...will result in a 1 to 25 cost-savings ratio.” In other words, $50 worth of seeds and fertilizer can produce $1,250 worth of groceries purchased at a supermarket.
LEARN MORE
Follow these links to learn more about
community gardens and see examples of other demonstration sites and
education centers across the country that may serve as a model for
future development. COMMUNITY GARDENS
American Community Garden Association
The American Community Gardening Association (ACGA) is a bi-national nonprofit membership organization of professionals, volunteers and supporters of community greening in urban and rural communities. This website provides valuable reference data and links to examples of community gardens throughout the country.
Philadelphia Green
A program of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Philadelphia Green® is the nation’s most comprehensive urban greening program. Since 1974, Philadelphia Green has supported the development and ongoing care of community gardens, neighborhood parks and high-profile public green spaces in Philadelphia.
Bronx Green-Up
Bronx Green-Up, the community outreach program of The New York Botanical Garden, provides horticultural advice, technical assistance, and training to community gardens, school groups, and other organizations interested in improving urban neighborhoods in the Bronx through greening projects. At the heart of Bronx Green-Up are the community gardens of the Bronx and a compost education program.
DEMONSTRATION GARDENS AND EDUCATION CENTERS
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden: Children's Garden and Education Programs
At the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia, children have up-close and personal interactions with the natural world--not as passive bystanders, but as active participants who touch, smell, taste, learn new vocabulary and develop observational and listening skills.
New York Botanical Garden: Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden
The Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden is a garden created by and for children, ages 2 through 12. Hands on activities are offered daily, and the Children's Gardening Program provides children with a garden plot of their very own to tend.
Missouri Botanical Garden: Kemper Center for Home Gardening
The Kemper Center is an 8.5 acre campus within the Missouri Botanical Garden containing 23 demonstration gardens filled with scores of ideas for home gardeners. The education center provides space for adult education classes and workshops and contains a reference library, help desk, and interpretive displays.
Missouri Botanical Garden: Earthways Center
The EarthWays Home, a historic residence in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, was renovated in 1994 to showcase practical demonstrations of energy efficient systems, recycled products and waste reduction practices. Today it serves as an educational facility of the Missouri Botanical Garden.
Franklin Park Conservancy: Community Garden Campus
A new four-acre Community Garden campus at the Franklin Park Conservancy in Columbus, Ohio, will support the Conservatory's "Growing to Green" program and be a place where all people can gain ideas for their own gardens, volunteer, or just sit, relax and enjoy the gardens.
Cantigny Idea Garden
Located in Wheaton, Illinois, the Cantigny Idea Garden inspires creativity and seeks to educate. This one-acre garden includes four sections: an herb garden, a children’s garden, a sensory garden, and a Walk Through the Seasons garden.
Check back soon for new links or send recommendations of your own to kschneider@digclds.org and we will post them!
