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Seven local neighborhood families, including twelve adults and five children ages 4-12, have met once every three weeks since August of 2021, for the setup and development of a Community Garden in their neighborhood. During each 2-hour scheduled work session, participants received one-on-one instruction, hands-on sessions in the garden, and participated in discussions to further develop the space. Each adult participant was completely responsible for planting and maintaining a section of the garden. Tools and materials were provided to the volunteers. In the year 2022, participants have gone through 3 rounds of harvest providing fresh vegetables to the local neighborhood, with public you-pick available and encouraged 24/7 at the site. Volunteers also scheduled and held multiple community engagement/learning workshops throughout 2022, including site planning and raised bed construction workshops attended by 16 members of the community, a native wildflower planting workshop attended by 12 local residents, and a multi-day Louisiana Sugarcane historical lecture, variety presentation, and planting workshop, attended by a total of 27 individuals over a 3 day period, which did include additional contact-less engagement during self-guided sessions.
Neighborhood kids plowing the fields!
Volunteer planting days!
Youth watering the veggies!
Seventy-five percent of participants increased their knowledge of recommended gardening practices. Eight participants adults and 3 children were exposed to vegetable gardening for the first time, and volunteered on a continuing basis all year. Wildflower garden planting and maintenance increased knowledge of the importance of pollinators for ninety percent of participants. Twenty-two individuals were exposed to the history of native sugarcane, were given free plants, and committed to planting four-to-eight stalks at their homes. Five neighborhood families whom have never gardened previously now have fully functioning garden spaces at their own homes, in addition to volunteering at the community garden space on a regular basis. The community garden has recently obtained 501c3 non-profit status, so that we may engage with more families in 2023 through project grants and community donations to the space. In-Person events have ramped up to once-per-month now that the garden has “taken root.”
Since approval of the space by our City Council in August of 2021, The Gallo Drive Community Garden Project has achieved the following impacts, by comparing evaluation questionnaires of volunteers:
Volunteer starting to garden at home
Neighbor thanking us for you-pick lunch
Volunteer’s home garden
“Our son loves visiting the garden to pick fresh vegetables!”
“My two daughters and I are loving our personal growing bins, thank you for setting this up!”
“My mom, sister, myself, and our husbands are so incredibly happy about what you are doing at this property. It truly means so much more than you know.”
Project Coordinator: Robert Lawrason – Master Gardeners of St. Bernard Parish – RobLawrason@gmail.com
Project Public Facebook Group: Gallo Drive Community Garden in St. Bernard Parish
The LSU AgCenter and LSU provide equal opportunities in programs and employment.
Focus projectpdf / 0.89MB