Getting one step closer to removing barriers to urban agriculture
Original Article - December 3, 2024
This fall, the Lake County Conservation District (LCCD) and Cloud City Conservation Center (C4) wrapped up the first year of a collaborative project aimed at reducing barriers to urban agriculture for Lake County residents. The project titled “Growing Gardens, Cultivating Community” was funded by the National Association of Conservation Districts’ Urban and Community Conservation Grant Initiative.
Community members interested in growing their own food in Lake County can face many daunting challenges, including a short growing season, harsh climate and legacy of soil and water contamination from mining activities. The Growing Gardens project addressed these barriers by using grant funds to provide 11 no-cost backyard gardening kits to eligible Lake County families making at or below area median income (AMI), support an expansion of C4’s Cloud City Community Garden and provide resources for new community gardeners, sponsor a free summer series of gardening workshops, create a subsidized community soil bank, fund two Cloud City Farm high school internships, and offer free backyard soil testing.
The project helped LCCD expand its scope of work, which has traditionally focused on natural resource conservation at a larger scale. “The conservation district is very excited to partner with C4 to get the word out about what the conservation district does and the different kinds of people we serve,” said Mary Smith, LCCD board president.
LCCD and C4 worked with many other Lake County partners including the Central Colorado Conservancy, Lake County Build a Generation, Lake County Public Library, St. George Episcopal Mission Community Meals & Pantry, Lake County Workforce, Full Circle and Summit and Lake Interpreters Co-Op to implement the project and make sure that application and marketing materials were available in both Spanish and English and that interpretation and child care were available for participants.
The grant project enabled at least 19 Lake County families who were not previously gardening to begin growing some of their own food. Eleven families received all the supplies needed to start their own backyard gardens, including a raised bed, soil and plant starts. “Our garden was a HUGE success this summer! Thank y’all so so much!” said Lake County resident Brittany Kichty, whose family received a backyard gardening kit.
Eight additional community members were able to garden in plots at Cloud City Community Garden, which is run by C4 and located at Cloud City Farm. New gardeners received a small stipend with which to purchase seeds and plants, as well as gardening support from Cloud City Farm staff. “I had a total blast gardening this summer,” said first-time community gardener Bekah Grim. “The kale and rainbow chard seemed to be the happiest. Thanks so much!”
In order to provide technical assistance to new gardeners, Cloud City Farm hosted a series of five free workshops from May through August with topics ranging from building DIY raised beds, garden planning/seed starting, soil health, at-home mushroom cultivation and a tour of exceptional gardens in Leadville. The grant also funded a summer internship at Cloud CIty Farm, during which high school interns learned about all facets of sustainable agriculture and played an important role on the Cloud City Farm team by participating in all stages of the growing process: seeding, transplanting, caring for, harvesting and selling at the donation-based Farm Stand. They also helped facilitate summer camp activities and completed individual projects, which included hand-painting new farm signage and laying the groundwork for Lake County School District to receive the Seal of Climate Literacy.
Another resource offered through the project was free backyard soil testing, which could be used by residents to analyze nutrients in their gardens or to measure heavy metals in their yards. Testing was provided by LCCD on a first come, first served basis, and in 2024 ten soil samples were collected and sent to the Colorado State University soil laboratory to be tested. Information from the soil results can help inform fertilization or soil augmentation needs.
Overall, LCCD and C4 believe the Growing Gardens project was a success and was well received by the residents of the county. Throughout the summer, there were more requests for backyard garden kits and soil testing well beyond what grant funds could provide, and workshops were well attended. This is encouraging as both organizations seek to find a future pathway to provide more of these gardening services and opportunities and empower residents to grow their own food. “My advice for other conservation districts who may want to start a similar program is to ensure that you first have solid working partnerships with other local organizations,” said Harmony Jump, LCCD district manager. “This is crucial when you are trying to reach those in our community who are typically underserved.”