Everyone should have the opportunity to reap the benefits of growing one’s own food, and Grow Local strives to ensure that all Central Texans have access to the education, space, and resources they need to do so. Grow Local helps create, support, and sustain community and school gardens and hosts a variety of educational workshops to help gardeners get growing.

Community Gardens

If you’d like to grow your own food, but don’t have adequate space or sunlight, consider planting in a community garden. Refer to the map below to find the community garden closest to you. If you don’t find one near you, or if the garden in your area is full, team up with neighbors to start your own community garden (check out SFC’s events calendar for the next Community Garden Leadership Training).

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• Alamo Community Garden — 2101 Alamo St. 78722
• Blackshear Community Garden — 2001 E. 9th St. 78702
• Clarksville Community Garden — 1705 Waterson Ave. 78703
• Co-Lab Community Garden — 613 Allen St. 78702
• Deep Eddy Community Garden — 300 Atlanta St. 78703
• Deloney Street Community Garden — E. 14th St. & Deloney St. 78721
• El Jardin Alegre Community Garden — 1801 E. 2nd St. 78702
• Festival Beach Community Garden — Along Waller St. between Clermont and Flores, 78702
• Good Soil Community Garden — 1190 Chicon St. 78702
• Homewood Heights Community Garden — 2604 Sol Wilson 78702
• Hyde Park Community Garden — 610 E. 45th St. (at Eilers) 78751
• Lifeworks Community Garden — 2001 Chicon St. 78722
• Montopolis Community Garden — 1417 Montopolis Dr. 78705
• Quilombo Garden — 5606 Harold Ct. 78721
• Reagan Community Garden — 7104 Berkman Dr. 78752
• South Austin Community Garden — 5th St. & Cumberland Rd. 78704
• Sunshine Community Garden — 4814 Sunshine Dr. 78756
• Travis County Southeast Metro Park — S Fm-973 & Hwy 71 E. Del Valle, 78717
• Windsor Park Community Garden — 5817 Westminster Dr. 78723
  

More information about community gardens in Austin will be available soon on the Coalition of Austin Community Gardens website. While the website is under construction, the Goals & Strategies matrix for the November 22nd CACG meeting can be accessed here.

Youth Gardens

Youth gardens can serve as outdoor, living classrooms and help to inspire awe of the natural world.  They help improve students’ understanding of science concepts as well as increase overall test scores.  Grow Local helps youth gardens thrive at many schools in the Austin area.  Here are some of the ways Grow Local can help:

• Provide comprehensive information about planning, building, and using school gardens in our publication The School Farm ($15).  Includes budget worksheet, grant opportunities, activities and curriculum ideas, central Texas gardening, and community organizing 
• Offer classes about basic organic gardening, composting, and seed saving, as well as Teaching the Garden trainings for teachers and School Garden Mentor trainings for volunteers
• Provide seeds, transplants, and compost for schools through our Spread the Harvest project
• Match School Garden Mentors to your school.  School Garden Mentors are volunteers who are trained to assist with school gardens (contact Grow Localstaff if you’re interested in becoming a mentor, or are seeking a mentor for your school).
• Lend tools from our tool lending library
• Lend books about Texas gardening and gardening with kids from our resource lending library
• Recruit volunteers for workdays
• Provide consultation
• Provide access to a network of local school garden groups, the Austin School Garden Network (www.austinsgn.org) (including a listserv)