CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Charleston Parks Conservancy invites the community to see the progress at the Community Vegetable Garden it is developing at the City of Charleston’s newest park, located at the intersection of Sycamore Avenue and Magnolia Road in West Ashley. The public is invited to an open house from 4-6 p.m. Nov. 19 on the property. Guests will have the opportunity to learn more about how to get involved in the community garden, including leasing garden space, volunteering and donating to the project.
With help from the Mount Pleasant Land Conservancy, the Charleston Parks Conservancy acquired the 3.7-acre property in August 2011 with the help of the Charleston County Greenbelt program, and recently donated it to the City of Charleston for use as a public park. The community garden under development is part of a citywide partnership between the Conservancy and the city and will provide opportunities for the community to lease space to raise vegetables for personal use, as well as to develop urban farming skills through educational programming, and by providing fresh produce for the Lowcountry Food Bank.
Students from the Clemson Architecture Center in Charleston have assisted in the development of the garden by designing a 400-square-foot shaded pavilion that will be used for community gatherings and a potential farmers market, as well as storage for supplies for gardeners. The Clemson students, under the direction of faculty member David Pastre, will install the pavilion on the site by the end of November.
Over the last few months, volunteer groups organized by the Parks Conservancy have cleared the fence line and constructed more than 30 garden planters that are waiting to be installed.
Earlier this year the Conservancy received a $20,000 Lowe’s/Keep America Beautiful Community Improvement Grant, to begin development of the garden. The Conservancy and community volunteers are continuing to raise funds to allow construction to be completed and programming of the community garden to begin.