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Urbancrest to fence in garden
(by Dedra Cordle, staff writer - March 04, 2010)
Last year, the village of Urbancrest initiated a summer program to get the area's youth interested in the local farming process.
It started in May 2009 when village council members approved a request by the Southwest Community Center YMCA, the Urbancrest Community Improvement Corporation, Bending Brook Apartments and the Columbus Housing Partnership to donate a parcel of fenced-in land behind the YMCA and turn it into a community garden.
The groups believed, not only would the garden be a great teaching opportunity for the children, but it would also be a fun activity that would keep them out of trouble during summer break.
The original plan was for the children to start small and just plant tomatoes, radishes and onion sprouts, but due to the green thumbs some of the kids possessed, the community garden soon saw pumpkins, green beans, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, white eggplant and an array of herbs.
The organizations, and the community, expressed an interest in seeing the regrowth of the community garden for the 2010 year, and during the March 2 village council meeting, council member Christine Bailey said the village has received a $2,700 grant from Scotts Miracle-Gro Company for the community garden project.
Bailey said they will have to decide how they should distribute the money towards the garden, but added the company requested they put a chain-link fence around the garden.
In August of last year, Sharon Saunders, the UCIC member who spoke on behalf of the community garden, said that they rented a fence to keep "four-legged and two-legged poachers away."
Bailey said the rented fence cost $700 and added a permanent fence could cost approximately $1,600. Urbancrest Mayor Joseph Barnes said he was not sure if they should put a permanent fence around the garden, as it falls into a community park.
Council member Deborah Larkins Jackson mentioned the fence outside the patio of the YMCA pool could use an upgrade and wondered if they should consider upgrading "all of it, not just a part of it."
Council said they would like to have the request for the chain-link fence in writing so they could look over their options.
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