I'm starting up a 'citizen gardener' program in the DFW area.

Here are the basics:
-Students will take a class (2x 4 hour sessions): education + hands on about vegetable gardening (roughly follow square foot gardening methods)
-We build a raised bed from scratch, including planting
-Students volunteer a set amount of time (at the community garden) afterward

At this point, I need to find a location to have the first class. Ideally, it will be a community garden or church garden that:
- could benefit from having a raised be built
- has enough room for about 30 students
- could use some extra volunteers

If you know of a community garden or church in the DFW area that would like to work with me on this project, please let me know!

more info: http://northtexasvegetablegardeners.com ... n-gardener

thanks,
Brian

Is there a charge for this class? Sounds like a good idea - I've wondered if there was a way to set up something like that in my neighborhood. I set an example with my garden in the front yard, and any time someone wanders past and shows interest they get the tour. But I really would like to see more people growing their own food.

yes, $30 per person for the class



yes, of course! I'm trying to get the program rolling, and would like the first few classes to be at an established place just to make my life (and the instructors) easier. Eventually, I'd like to start new gardens too.

If you want to take the lead of starting your community garden, I'll help in the design and planning (and probably the building) phases. Do you have an area in mind?

I wouldn't need that kind of help - but I would like to get a few neighbors gardening, according to the space and time they have. If there was an association of neighborhood gardeners, for example, with a directory, and a set of guidelines and modest fees to cover your time but not with a profit motive, that would be helpful. Most of my tutoring goes on in my yard, and as I said, is informal. Passers-by from the neighborhood who show interest. And of course, there is a core of folks who exchange plants back and forth. We could all get behind something like this.

That is exactly what we are doing in the "Where" forum at northexasvegetablegardeners.com! It is structured to allow users to 'drill down' to their local area and find what is going on near them. This would be a good place to meetup with other people in your neighborhood. (and smaller, more local categories can be added as needed)

It is all user-driven though, which requires people like you to get the ball rolling.

I'd like to hear more about your ideas on guidelines and your concepts. I'm pretty sure 'somebody else' is not going to do it, it is up to people like us!

It slipped my mind until just now, but have you checked out the info Don has collected:

Gardeners in Community Development
www.gardendallas.org