In the month that is her namesake, April Hadley looks at the vacant lot she owns at 1350 Wealthy Street SE and sees a modern-day victory garden that will bring neighbors together during hard times, just like the millions of gardens that served that purpose during World Wars I and II.
Hadley and her husband Scott are sharing their land, offering it free of rent to anyone who wants to get their hands dirty and learn gardening.
And even though it's too dicey weatherwise to plant many types of vegetables, the Barefoot Victory Garden already has cultivated a sense of neighborhood in this section of Eastown.
Wannbe gardeners have built more than 20 raised beds on this standard city lot, tucked snugly between two houses and a short walk from the Wealthy Theatre. The garden area announces itself with a funky wooden sign painted by local artist Brenda Beerhorst. Bedecked with images of carrots and radishes, the sign says, "Barefoot Victory Garden – Coming Soon."
Brenda's husband Rick and other musicians will be performing Saturday in a modern day version of a barn raising, where the local community hopes to procure donations for gardening materials.
Almost daily, volunteers come and go, constructing beds out of lumber and concrete blocks, taking photos, and hauling soil in full view of Eastown's car wash and new Pizza Hut. Traffic is heavy on Wealthy Street, and hundreds of commuters probably drive by the lot every day without observing the changes.
But neighbors passing on the sidewalk undoubtably notice the newly-dug steps leading up to a wooden trellis archway, as well as the friendly letter tacked up to a small wooden bulletin board that begins simply, "Dear neighbor." Clearly, this is not your typical urban garden.
A Season to Plant Ideas
Kelley Jordan Heneveld is often at the lot, pushing a wheelbarrow or carefully spacing lettuce seeds in the freshly-tilled earth. Heneveld, 24, is not a master gardener, nor is she a city planner or a non-profit employee charged with revitalizing the streetscape. She's a Grand Rapids native and an Eastown resident (as well as a photographer and a nanny) who wanted to put her hands to work towards something positive.
After paying off her student loans last March, Heneveld decided to give herself the gift of one month off from life. Drawn by her love of the outdoors and her growing interest in sustainable living, she found an experience working on an organic farm in Alabama through WWOOF, an international organization that provides worldwide opportunities on organic farms. While working on the farm, she also visited an urban farm in Chattanooga, Tenn., and the seed of an idea was sown.
When Heneveld returned to Grand Rapids, she spent some time reading up on sustainability issues and discussing them with Hadley. The two read some of the essays of Wendell Berry, famous for his ideas on sustainable farming and environmental stewardship. When talk turned to what they hoped to grow in the coming season, Hadley made an offer.
"I said, 'If you ever want to plant a garden on our empty lot, you're welcome to do it,'" she says. A social worker and busy mother of three young children, Hadley and her husband had purchased the property with the intention of building on it, but then bought a home in Grand Rapids, and the land is now for sale.
She says they continue to pay the property taxes and have committed to letting the garden grow at least through this season, even if the land sells. Too busy with her family to take on such a big project herself, Hadley is content to support the project from the sidelines and sees it as an opportunity to explore creative ways to live sustainably. "I felt like I could learn from Kelley," she says simply.
In Your Own Backyard
Other neighborhood residents could clearly learn from Kelley, too. "I had a small garden last summer and, because I rent, I don't have one spot that I can really invest in," says Heneveld. "Last summer there were neighborhood kids who came to check it out. They didn't know that green beans grow from plants in the ground, or that you have to water the roots and not the petals of flowers." She says one goal of the garden is for people to learn techniques to grow food in their own backyards.
So Heneveld and five other women went forward with the idea, though it's not a conventional community garden. The gardeners, mostly novices, have been promoting the garden largely through Facebook, a blog, and fliers to the surrounding community. They are trying hard to reach out to as many area residents as possible, because the garden is open to anyone.
"In most community gardens, you have to rent a plot and grow your own food, so if you don't know what you're doing, you wouldn't start," Heneveld says. "We'd love for anyone to come along and help us dig and plant seeds and bring their kids so people can see where food comes from."
Heneveld says the garden's name intentionally harkens back to the victory gardens that were grown during World Wars I and II. "They were community efforts to bring change and support one another during the hard times. We're thinking of the community as family and thinking of the garden is a big resource during a time when some people don't have much."
The garden's Facebook page states plainly: "This is a family garden. You are family." Carrying that theme forward, the gardeners plan to teach classes, share the harvest, and enjoy the fruit of their labors at family-style community meals. They've reserved a space in the center of the lot for cooking demonstrations and picnicking.
The organizers used their own capital to start the venture, but they've found welcome assistance along the way. "As soon as I started working towards this, I was amazed by the community support I got," says Heneveld.
Good to Grow
Amber Kilpatrick, a community organizer with the Eastown Community Association, was thrilled to hear about the project. "I see the Barefoot Victory Garden as an opportunity to build community by bringing neighbors together for a common, mutually beneficial goal," she says. The ECA connected Barefoot gardeners with resources for garden supplies and materials, as well as with other local groups who could assist. So far the project has received donations of soil and lumber.
One support group is Our Kitchen Table, a local non-profit focused on environmental justice issues including food and urban gardening. Lisa Oliver-King, an organizer with the group, says the Our Kitchen Table is hosting a free workshop, "How to Start a Food Garden" at 9 a.m. to noon Saturday to teach community members some pointers for successful food gardening.
Our Kitchen Table also hopes to hold on-site classes and cooking demos at the garden in addition to educating people about soil composition, local food systems, and area gardens and markets.
"We're excited to see a new group of gardeners, and we want to help them grow something new, something unfamiliar," Oliver-King says. "We're trying to encourage ways of growing food as a social network and a neighborhood food system; not just for profit, but to share with others."
On Saturday, the general public is invited to a benefit concert called "Plant Seeds, Sing Songs," with The Rick Beerhorst Band, The Soil and the Sun, Stacy Feyer, and Stationary Travelers performing live at DVDP at 928 Wealthy Street to raise money for the project.
As April Hadley sees her vacant lot turned into fertile ground, she has high hopes for positive outcomes. "I hope that the community can see that growing something with your hands is something that can bring a sense of pride and hope. Something as simple as putting our hands in the earth and nurturing a plant actually feeds people's souls. It's a mysterious exchange between the Earth and food and hope. I hope that for the Eastown community as a whole."
Heneveld is calm and happy amid the busy spring chaos, and her goals are simple.
"We want to have a successful garden, grow food, share the experience with the neighborhood and meals with the community. We want to have a hopeful presence." She says she wants, in the words of Wendell Berry's poem "Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front," to "practice resurrection." She turns, smiles, and pokes a finger into the damp dirt, planting a seedling that she then protects with a humble plastic milk jug.
Stephanie Doublestein writes and blogs about food, business, and parenting, among other things. She lives in East Grand Rapids with her husband and their two young daughters.
Photos:
Kelley Jordan (2)
Barefoot Victory Garden (2)
April and Scott Hadley (2)
Photographs by Brian Kelly -All Rights Reserved