Seattle Tilth has received a $15,000 grant from the City of Seattle’s Neighborhood Matching Fund to launch a Community Planning Process to guide program development and improvements of the teaching gardens, including the Urban Agriculture Center, in use since 1978, and the Children’s Garden, in use since 1988. As the organization celebrates its 30^th Anniversary in 2008, Tilth pledges to reinvest in the garden spaces to ensure they are at their best in terms of program functionality, safety and attractiveness. 

Funding supports a process of engaging the community in the planning process as well as demarcating the garden spaces under consideration with temporary signs. The planning process will closely involve neighbors, P-Patch gardeners, park users, and tenants of the Good Shepherd Center. Staff are researching the original plans and subsequent ideas for the gardens in order to gather all of the best ideas into a master plan for the gardens to be implemented over time.

Improvements under consideration will include covered gathering areas, improved storage, signs, paths, raised beds and other elements to improve the educational function of these popular teaching spaces. UW’s Neighborhood Design Build Studio will construct some improvements in Spring 2008.

This Fall, we have been busy gathering input on how to enhance our teaching gardens.  Our outreach activities include, soliciting feedback at the Harvest Fair, hosting a public planning event on October 18 as part of our Third Thursday Programming and talking with program participants, volunteers, members, Wallingford neighbors, P-Patch gardeners, park users and tenants of the Good Shepherd Center about how we can reinvest in the garden spaces to ensure they remain a viable center for organic gardening education for future generations.

Our next public planning event is scheduled for January 17 from 7-9pm.  Bring your ideas and vision for improving these treasured teaching spaces and be a part of this exciting process of creating a Master Plan for the Tilth gardens!  Learn more about the January event here!

Please share your input! For more information and a schedule of upcoming events, contact Karen Luetjen, karenluetjen@seattletilth.org, 206-632-1999, or visit  www.seattletilth.org.