Community Gardens

Garden projects are popping up all over Kalamazoo! Learn about these great projects and how you can get involved! If you would like to list your garden project here, please email us.

Eastside Community Garden

• Location: 1224 E. Main Street (Across from the Eastside Neighborhood Association)
• How to participate: Anyone interested is invited to help to take care of this communal garden and in turn receive a share of the produce that is grown. Excess produce will be donated to the Fresh Food Initiative in the Eastside neighborhood to be shared with residents.
• Shared resources available: water, tools, plants.
• About the garden: This garden was made possible through a collaboration between the Eastside Neighborhood Association, Kalamazoo College and the Davis Projects for Peace Foundation, and the Kalamazoo Urban Victory Garden Project, a Fair Food Matters project. The garden is cared for communally and there are no individual plots.
• Contact: Pat Taylor, Director of the Eastside Neighborhood Association pat-taylor@sbcglobal.net (269) 381-0700

Gibbs House Community Gardens

• Location: 4503 Parkview Ave., Kalamazoo
• How to participate: Anybody in the local area is welcome; plots are$30 lease per year.
• Shared resources available: Tools, water, mulch, leaf mold, irrigation
• About the garden: There are seven plots (10x24 feet with automatic drip irrigation) available for community members to lease on a yearly basis. Water conservation, heirloom plants, and organic growing principles are all strongly encouraged since the use of artificial fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides is prohibited.
• Contact: Joshua Shultz, 2007-2009 Garden Coordinator, joshshultz@ceibahamas.org; Remy Long, 2008-2010 Program Coordinator, remy.t.long@wmich.edu
• For more information: Visit Gibbs House Website or Gibbs House Facebook Page

Growing Matters Garden Program

• Location: 2119 N. Westnedge & Woodward Elementary School
• How to participate: Community Volunteer Nights: Woodward Elementary School (corner of North & Stuart) Tuesday evenings, June-Aug. 7:00-8:00PM; and Westnedge site Wednesday evenings, May-Sept., 6:30-8:00PM
• About the garden: The Growing Matters Garden program provides hands-on learning opportunities for local youth and the larger community at our urban gardens. Students put their hands in the soil and understand where their food comes from, how great it tastes right from the garden, and why growing organic is so important. Sponsorship, produce and volunteer opportunities available.
• Contact: Erica Barajas, Manager, 269-429-1270 (Fair Food Matters), erica@fairfoodmatters.org
• For more information: Growing Matters Garden Page

International Concentric Cultures Garden, Collaboration Between WMU and KVCC

• Location: Corner of Howard and Stadium, behind Stadium Dr. Apartments
• How to participate: Anyone is welcome to participate by 1) having their own plot (must fill out an interest form first), and 2) leading and joining lectures and discussions on food history, canning/preserving food, herbalism, permaculture, and composting.
• Shared resources available: tools, water, plants when available
• About the garden: ICC Garden focuses on food history and local and responsible food production. We aim to provide an educational and nutritional resource for students and community members alike.
• Contact: Tessa Erskine, terskine@kvcc.edu, 269-488-4534, or International Studies program, KVCC, 269-488-4283

Oakwood Neighborhood Community Garden

• Location: 2529 Springmont Ave., Kalamazoo
• How to participate: All Oakwood Neighborhood residents are welcome to participate in our communal garden project. There are no individual plots. This is a shared, common garden.
• Shared resources available: Tools, water
• About the garden: This garden project started in 2009 and is funded by a grant from the Kellogg Foundations that was awarded to Penny Kelly and the Center for Conscious and Sustainable Living. Her vision is to see communities strengthen, while people work together to maintain a neighborhood community garden.
• Contact: Shelly Claflin, greengirltravel@charter.net, 269-330-1740, or visit the Oakwood Community Garden page on Facebook

Open Door Urban Garden Project

• Location: 416 Phelps St., Kalamazoo
• How to participate: Open to anyone but geared towards Eastside residents. Collaboratively managed with workdays open to the community every other Saturday from 10AM to noon. There is also a youth program that runs throughout the week held by youth mentors/youth supervisors as funded by Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U.). The Garden Project is currently looking for youth mentors who receive stipends through Y.O.U.
• Shared resources available: Tools, donated seeds/transplants, water from house and rain barrels
• About the garden: The Open Door Urban Garden Project is a cooperatively managed organic vegetable garden in the heart of the Eastside neighborhood. Residents, members of the Open Door Ministry and many children and young adults work together to plant and harvest fresh, healthy produce to distribute among themselves and give away to neighbors. There is a youth-run market during the summer where vegetables are sold at extremely low cost, thereby locally and directly affecting the visible food security issues that are present in this area.
• Contact: Ashley Bishop, eastsideproject@gmail.com, 269-650-3304

Peace House

• Location: 321 & 313 Phelps Avenue, Kalamazoo
• How to participate: Peace House offers open gardening to neighborhood kids formally on Monday nights from 7:00-8:30PM, and informally other times during the week.
• Shared resources available: Water, tools
• About the garden: Peace House was started in 2006 as an intentional community of two families living on the east side of Kalamazoo. Peace House is a safe place for neighborhood kids to play and develop nonviolent communication skills while having lots of fun. With much community support, we have built and developed three lots into a large play area, green space and community gardens. The garden consists of many different forms of raised beds with vegetables and berry bushes.
• Contact: Peace House, 269-492-1206, peacehouse@tds.net, if you are interested in visiting, volunteering, or have questions.

Vine Neighborhood Community Garden

• Location: Westnedge Ave. between Walnut & Dutton, Kalamazoo
• How to participate: All Vine Neighborhood Residents are welcome to participate in our communal garden project. There are no individual plots. This is a shared, common garden.
• Shared resources available: Tools, water
• About the garden: This project is funded by a grant from the Kellogg Foundations that was awarded to Penny Kelly and the Center for Conscious and Sustainable Living. Her vision is to see communities strengthen, while people work together to maintain a neighborhood community garden.
• For more info: Contact Shelly Claflin, greengirltravel@charter.net, 269-330-1740 or visit the Vine Neighborhood Community Garden page on Facebook

Wall Street Community Gardens

• Location: Wall Street between Park & Rose Streets, Kalamazoo: Two locations on either side of the street, closer to Park
• How to participate: Anyone living in the City of Kalamazoo is invited to participate. However, potential participants must be pre-approved (plots usually fill up early in the season). Fee is $10/bed, and participants must sign a garden contract. No chemical pesticides or fertilizers are allowed.
• Shared resources available: Water, tools
• About the garden: Wall Street Community Garden is entering its 8th year and has recently expanded. It is a great opportunity for residents of the Vine Neighborhood and the City of Kalamazoo to experience urban gardening and grow their own food!
• For more info: visit Wall Street Community Garden website or contact Mitzi DeLuca mitzikzo@sbcglobal.net, Clay Karz ckarz2@gmail.com or Ema Kehn emilykehn@gmail.com