By Michael Benavides
Staff Writer
PLUMSTED – The Plumsted Presbyterian Church is seeking donations from the public in an effort to start a community garden.
A community garden is generally created by a municipal governing body or a local organization and divided into small plots. Each plot is leased to a member of the community for a growing season and each individual is responsible for the care of her plot.
Phyllis Zoon, pastor, said, “The idea for the community garden began in 2014 when the Plumsted Presbyterian Church first envisioned Sabbath House and the Gardens at Plumsted.”
Sabbath House is what the church calls a “center for sacred activism … a community that brings together spiritual practices with actions that lead toward bringing peace and hope into the world.”
Zoon said the plan for the community garden became a reality in 2016 when the members of the Plumsted Township Environmental Commission and others offered their support and individual talents for the project.
A fundraiser for the community garden began on Nov. 15 and will end Dec. 15.
Zoon said the project would have not been possible without the help of Township Committeeman Herb Marinari. She said Marinari helped introduce the community garden proposal to the environmental commission.
“About a year ago, I visited Committeeman Marinari, who owns Big Woods Nursery in New Egypt,” Zoon said. “I told him our church had a community garden in its plans, but I did not know what we needed to do to accomplish this goal.
“Committeeman Marinari immediately said, “I’ll help you,” and he arranged for me to meet with the environmental commission in the spring,” she said. “When I met with the commission, I told them about the organic vegetable garden we already had called the Giving Garden and I showed them a rough layout for a proposed community garden with 15 4- x 10-foot plots.
“I told them we were looking for their support and two members of the commission, John Neyenhouse and Bev Vienckowski, volunteered to serve on the Plumsted Township Community Garden Committee,” Zoon said.
Neyenhouse said the community garden is a great way to promote environmental awareness.
“The environmental commission is always looking for projects we can help to support or encourage which help to raise awareness about the environment, and projects that help bring the community ways to participate in sustainable practices,” he said.
“The commission is a small group and we are always looking for more volunteers to join and assist us. Plumsted is an agriculturally based community and we feel the community garden is a great way of providing a place to allow the community to learn more about the environmental aspects of farming and gardening, and providing a place for people to gather and experience the outdoors,” Neyenhouse said.
Zoon said the church has raised $640 and is trying to raise $2,000. A crowd funding effort is available at SeedMoney.org and will end on Dec. 15. She said donations of gardening supplies would be appreciated.
A plot in the community garden is expected to cost between $20 and $25.
Zoon said the purpose of the community garden is twofold.
“I would say it is about offering a place where people can come to grow food and flowers; to feed themselves or hungry people,” the pastor said. “It is also a way for us to care for the earth in this particular place by making it beautiful … because we are building up the soil and attracting birds, bees and butterflies.
“Finally, we are building up the community because people can grow healthy food, learn about gardening, take care of the environment, and play,” Zoon said.