Tyrese Gudenkauf helps plant onions this spring in the Wellington Heights community garden near his house in southeast Cedar Rapids. The 8-year-old admitted he doesn’t like onions, but does eat them, along with many other vegetables. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
CEDAR RAPIDS – Karl Cassell and a small crew of dedicated volunteers transformed a vacant lot into a bountiful garden this summer in Wellington Heights.
Now, the community is invited to celebrate that success during a harvest party, set for 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013.
The celebration will be at 1415 Bever Ave. SE. Karl, who is president/CEO of Horizons, will be among the speakers, along with Sonia Kendrick, who has helped start a good number of community gardens through her organization, Feed Iowa First.
Also speaking will be Jason Grimm of the Iowa Valley RC&D, one of the organizers of the Iowa Valley Food Co-op.
Linn County Master Gardener, Debbie Main, will be on hand to answer questions about canning and freezing.
Onions are planted at the community garden in the Wellington Heights neighborhood of Cedar Rapids on Saturday, May 11, 2013. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
I had the chance to visit the garden earlier this season and know how much work Karl has dedicated to making it a success.
He notes that the garden’s 4C’s – Cultivate, Care, Connect, Community – partners with Horizons, a Family Service Alliance, along with the Leopold Center and Red-I.
The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture awarded a grant to support the Wellington Heights Harvest Party, which will also be a community/block party, with cooking demonstrations and more.
Karl notes that one of the main goals of 4C’s is to donate the fruits and vegetables from the harvest to local food banks and shelters.
“They also want to use this opportunity to show our community how to achieve success in backyard gardening, and showcase some project ideas on how to make gardening fun and easy,” he said.
Check out this fabulous garden at https://www.facebook.com/4CsCultivateCareConnectCommunity
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