Wasatch Community Gardens

Founded in 1989, Wasatch Community Gardens works to empower people of all ages and incomes to grow and eat healthy, organic, local food. We have provided gardening education and opportunities to record numbers of people in our community--over 6,700 during the past year alone! Wasatch Community Gardens achieves its mission by providing access to gardening, land, and education.

Access to Gardening and Land

Through the Community Gardening Program, we endeavor to provide community members of all income levels the opportunity to grow their own food by providing the garden space, knowledge, and tools. We run seven community gardens in the Salt Lake area with 120 garden plots available for growing fresh produce. In 2010 we launched the Sharing Backyards Project in partnership with Urban Village Cooperative. This online mapping program connects aspiring but land-less gardeners with landowners who are willing to share their yards. In 2010 we also launched Wasatch Community Gardens Network Project with the goal of creating a network of sustainable, flourishing community gardens in Salt lake County with a focus on low-income neighborhoods. We assist local organizations and community groups wishing to start their own community gardens by providing training, resources, networking opportunities, staff consultation, reference materials, and a tool lending library. There are currently 22 community gardens.

Access to Education

The Youth Gardening Program empowers youth with the skills, awareness and knowledge to grow and harvest food and to taste and prepare new fruits and vegetables, in order to make healthy choices for themselves and the environment. Over the past year, more than 1,500 urban youth along Utah's Wasatch Front participated in our youth programs, including City Roots youth gardening classes, City Sprouts summer camps, youth field trips and school gardening programs. Through the Community Education Program, we offer diverse organic gardening and sustainable food workshops, print and online educational resources, and direct outreach activities. In 2010, approximately 900 people attended 30 workshops, with topics including composting, raising urban chickens, fall and winter planting, and food preservation.

For more information about our community and education programs, please visit our website at http://www.wasatchgardens.org/.