222 E. Market Street, Urbana, Ohio
The Market Street Community Garden continues to grow and prosper. For more information about the community garden, contact Heather Tiefenthaler, external coach of ACC, 614-578-9636.
Libraries Receive New Gardening Books, DVDs
Local public library directors, from left, Valerie Hartzler, Mechanicsburg; Nancy McAlpin, St. Paris; and Zara Liskowiak, Champaign County, display a few of the 113 new garden and food-related books and DVDs they are adding to their collections through a federal Institute of Museum and Library Services grant, awarded by the State Library of Ohio. The grant supports Gathering Gardens, a program associated with the new Market Street Community Garden in Urbana. The grant also will support educational programs on gardening, video programs that are being produced for local public access television and a newspaper about the community garden, a project developed by Activate Champaign County and partnering organizations. Visit the libraries' websites for information about the new books and DVDs. (2010)
These members of the 4-H Climber Club will be tending two plots at the community garden and volunteered their time spreading mulch on the walkways.
Library Grant Helps Community Garden Grow
The Market Street Community Garden in Urbana has taken root with the help of a Growing Community Grant awarded by the Ohio State Library Board to the Champaign County Library and its partners.
Seventeen individuals, families and organizations have or will be planting vegetables, herbs and flowers in the garden’s raised beds, which have been constructed in a vacant lot at 222 E. Market Street. The garden is the result of extensive planning by Activate Champaign County (ACC), a coalition of community organizations committed to encouraging Champaign County residents to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
The Champaign County Library, Mechanicsburg Public Library and the St. Paris Public Library will use some of the grant funds to purchase gardening books and DVDs and provide summer reading club programs on gardening.
In addition, the local Ohio State University Extension office will provide classes on cooking and preserving garden produce, and Charlene Stapleton of Champaign County Master Gardeners has been advising the community garden gardeners. Locally produced videos broadcast on community access channels and a newspaper circulated in the county will help share information about the community garden and the experience of the gardeners.
The Champaign County Farm Bureau, Champaign Residential Services, Inc. and ACC provided local matching funds for the Growing Community Grant. Other partners include the Champaign County Community Improvement Corporation, which owns the lot for the garden, the City of Urbana, which has provided access to water, the Champaign County Farmers’ Market, Urbana University, and the Champaign Family YMCA. (2010)
This project was supported in whole or in part by federal Institute of Museum and Library Services funds, granted through the State Library of Ohio. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of IMLS or the State Library of Ohio, and no official endorsement by either agency should be inferred.