Kids garden to get shelter

Real kitchen also planned

FAYETTEVILLE — A dozen or so children huddled around a frying pan set on a picnic table, waiting to taste the fried green tomatoes they grew.

“So good,” one declared. Others said the crispy treats reminded them of fried chicken.

Most of the children enrolled in the Yvonne Richardson Community Center’s Kid Crops program ate the morsels within the cover of an on-site storage shed. Trees and an umbrella also provided shade, but the 90-degree heat Wednesday wouldn’t relent.

Eight-year-old triplets Gabriel, Nicolas and Sofia Martinez-Carballal braved the sun. Sofia said the tomatoes were her favorite. Gabriel and Nicolas helped horticulturist Jenifer Royer with the dishes. Water came out the bottom of the sink, which also sat outside.

“This is pretty makeshift here,” Royer said.

The Parks and Recreation Department plans to build a separate shelter for the garden by fall. It will serve as a refuge from the sun, an outdoor learning space and proper kitchen area. The project was made possible through a state grant, parks

money and the goodwill of a few volunteers.

The nonprofit arm of the center, Friends of YRCC, secured a grant in 2015 for $9,198 from the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District to build the shelter. The grant money came from the state’s General Improvement Fund, a source embroiled in scandal in the wake of the indictment and trial of former state Sen. Jon Woods. City Attorney Kit Williams reviewed the grant and determined it was proper to use for its stated purpose.

The Parks Department had put the project on hold in the ensuing years because it took on a few major projects including rolling out Kessler Mountain Regional Park, establishing a mountain bike attraction and park on Millsaps Mountain, a few miles north of the regional park, and updating the overall master plan.

The Yvonne Richardson Center was built in 1995 and is under the purview of the Parks Department. Tenisha Gist, the center’s director, said the structure will serve as a new space for the community and an extension of the garden program.

“It’ll just be very helpful to have that space for the kids,” she said. “That way they aren’t deterred from the educational or Kids Crops programs because of the weather.”

Children and parents in the neighborhood already use the playground and gym at the center, so it makes sense they would use the garden shelter as well, Gist said.

Securing enough money to build the shelter also involved using $7,000 of parkland money. Total estimated cost is $13,700, which includes site preparation, slab, framing, roofing and utilities, said Ken Eastin, park planner. Future expenses could include fencing, screening, shelter furnishings and storage, he said.

“These will be necessary, but the initial focus is to get the shelter constructed,” Eastin said. “We will be looking to our current and potential donors to allow us to stretch this current budget as far as we can.”

Zara Niederman, a developer who serves on the Planning Commission, offered to coordinate construction and cover any gaps in funding. Randy Davidson, a builder who frequently collaborates with Niederman, will oversee specifics on the design.

Niederman said his two sons, now 8 and 10 years old, played and attended programs at the center, and he wanted to see what he could do to help. His family lives nearby on South Washington Avenue.

“My wife and I feel really strongly about providing services for kids,” Niederman said. “When we think about donating money or anything like that, we think specifically about education and kids.”

“My wife and I feel really strongly about providing services for kids. When we think about donating money or anything like that, we think specifically about education and kids.”

— Zara Niederman, a developer who serves on the Planning Commission