THE SOUTH LINCOLN STREET GARDEN OPENS
The first Ada-compliant community garden in Fort Bragg comes to fruition after several years of planning and fundraising. An open house was held on Sunday, November 14th at the garden site next to the CV Starr Center. Matt Drewno, one of the primary instigators was on hand to explain the process and to thank the City of Fort Bragg and other sponsors for their efforts in helping the garden movement get going. A second garden on South Harbor Road is in the works.
The garden consists of twenty, fifty square foot plots plus up to six, wheelchair-accessible raised beds. The Ada-compliant raised beds make it possible for those with mobility issues to participate in gardening. The plots cost $25 per year, which includes the cost of water. They also ask gardeners to spend fifteen hours helping to maintain the garden. While the garden looks full only, about half the plots are spoken for. The gardeners have planted fava beans, vetch (peas), and oats to help the soil retain nitrogen as well as to sequester carbon during the winter.
The event was coordinated and promoted by the League of Women Voters of Mendocino County as part of their response to climate change and drew about twenty guests from the local community. The idea behind the community garden is to give people the opportunity to grow their own food locally. Locally produced food develops resilience and uses less carbon than mass-produced food because it doesn’t require transportation.
The city council passed a resolution in 2019 establishing Fort Bragg as a Garden Friendly Community. The resolution was led by council members Jessica Morsel Hayes and current Mayor Bernie Norvell. Drewno and others created a committee to organize local gardens and develop plans for the gardens. Fort Bragg provided multiple city-owned
plots as options for the first garden. The lot next to CV Starr was selected due to its proximity to classrooms and an Ada-compliant facility. Drewno is well known in the area for his work as the farm and seed bank manager for the Victory Gardens at the Stanford Inn. Drewno has built a 1000 square foot demonstration garden at Stanford that can feed a family for one year.
The garden gets its water from a well at CV Starr that is also used to maintain the Redwood Elementary fields. The group has plans to add a rainwater catchment system and a greenhouse as they further develop the site. They also will be adding a windbreak on the south side of the garden to reduce moisture evaporation at the site. The Garden Friendly Community organization is under the fiscal sponsorship of the Mendocino Children’s Fund. To inquire about the plot, learn about volunteer opportunities, or for more information go to www.gfcgardensfortbragg.org.