In what was recently just an empty lot, RISE Chattanooga is bringing people together in Chattanooga's Menlo Park neighborhood through the Ancestral Roots Community Garden.
Dozens of volunteers from the community gathered at the corner of Shallowford and Gillespie roads to plant fruits and vegetables such as watermelons, Romaine lettuce and muscadine vines in raised beds, along with flowers including heirloom irises to form a border around the garden. Volunteers included District 9 City Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod and Sean Daniels, president of the Menlo Park Neighborhood Association, the members of which will be the garden's primary caretakers.
Kids help out during a planting day at the Ancestral Roots Community Garden in Menlo Park. / Photo contributed by Andy Santoro"There's so many different benefits for having a community garden," said RISE Director and co-founder Shane Morrow.
He hopes the garden will raise awareness of the need for more healthy food options in the area, which he describes as a food desert, or area that lacks access to fresh fruit, vegetables and other healthful whole foods. Morrow also hopes the garden will provide residents with a safe place to come and meet their neighbors.
The food grown in the garden is free to anyone in the community, although the volunteers who planted and maintain the garden have first pickings, he said.
The garden is just the first phase of RISE's plans for the lot, which also include building a small community stage and bringing in local sculptors including Rondell Crier to add art to the space, said Morrow.
Designed by Whole Earth Garden Services and RISE volunteer James McKissic, the garden was inspired by historical African American gardens and funded by RISE, a local minority-based cultural nonprofit.
Menlo Park Neighborhood Association President Sean Daniels, District 9 Chattanooga City Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod and volunteer James McKissic, from left, stand in front of the raised beds at Ancestral Roots Community Garden on planting day. / Photo contributed by Andy SantoroThe project fits with the three pillars of the organization, which was formerly known as Jazzanooga before it was rebranded last year to broaden its work in the community, said Morrow. Those pillars include education, performance, and arts and cultural preservation.
Nearby schools Dalewood Middle and Brainerd High will be actively involved with the garden, and anyone is welcome to volunteer. Morrow plans to also bring in an African American Master Gardener to hold classes at the garden.
He said he's in talks with two other neighborhoods, both in South Chattanooga, about starting community gardens there as well.
For more information about volunteering, email info@jazzanooga.org.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.