MONROE, Mich. – The Monroe County Community College Farm is offering free space to community members to plant and tend to this summer.
Gardeners of all ages and experience levels can reserve, plant and tend garden plots ranging from 10 feet by 10 feet, 10 feet by 20 feet and 20 feet by 20 feet. A special kickoff planting day is scheduled for Saturday, June 1, at 10:30 a.m.
“We encourage growers to bring their own seeds and transplants if they have them,” said community farm coordinator Nick Beaudrie. “We also will have some transplants that day available on a first-come, first-served basis.”
In addition to the kickoff event, part-time caretakers and students enrolled in MCCC’s agriculture program – a partnership with Michigan State University – will be on hand to offer advice and host learning opportunities throughout the summer.
The community garden area will utilize about half an acre on a 12-acre parcel of college land located just north of the Main Campus between the Gerald Welch Health Education Building and the Monroe County Intermediate School District on S. Raisinville Road.
Other areas of the larger parcel are used as a production garden for the agriculture program and test plots through partnerships with local and state agricultural organizations like the Ida Co-op, Michigan State University Extension Service and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Crops such as wheat, corn, soybeans and cover crop varieties have been grown on trial and demonstration basis, and research has been conducted on soybean cyst nematodes.
Funding is provided through a $79,000 Urban Grant from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The grant also allows the part-time farm caretakers to collaborate with and support other community gardens in the county, including the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Arthur Lesow Community Center and The Selma Rankins Jr. Community Garden.
“One of the goals of the grant is increasing accessibility to healthy food in our community, so our gardeners are encouraged to plant items they can use themselves in their meals at home or share with others at produce stands, for example,” said Beaudrie.
Last year the college’s production area of the farm donated more than 5,000 pounds of produce to needy families through local food banks, pumpkins to the Monroe County Library System and the MCCC campus for Halloween activities, and more than 200 pounds of winter squash and fresh herbs to the college’s culinary skills and management program for use in fall classes.
“Providing training and education opportunities is also an important aspect of the grant and this project,” added Beaudrie, an MCCC culinary graduate and second-year student in the college’s agriculture program that began in 2017. “Whether it is our caretakers being on-hand at the garden to answer individual questions from gardeners or hosting more formal workshops or discussions for gardeners, education and awareness improve accessibility to healthy food for our community, too.”
“We recommend interested gardeners contact us soon to reserve their plot since space is limited and the plots are being offered free-of-charge or rent,” said Beaudrie. To reserve a plot, email nbeaudrie1@gmail.com. More information about the program can also be found on the “MCCC Community Farm” Facebook page.
About Monroe County Community College
Founded in 1964, Monroe County Community College is a public, two-year institution supported by tax monies from Monroe County, educational funds from the State of Michigan and student tuition. The college’s mission is to enrich lives in our community by providing opportunity through student-focused, affordable, quality higher education and other learning experiences. The Main Campus is located at 1555 South Raisinville Road, Monroe, Mich., 48161, with easy access to Toledo and Detroit. The Whitman Center is located in Temperance, Mich., 48182, near the Ohio-Michigan Border. Detailed information about MCCC is available at www.monroeccc.edu.