Get Healthy, Live Well, a new “creating healthier communities” initiative led by Tanner Health System and funded by a Community Transformation Grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), invites Carrollton residents of all ages to attend the Knox Park Community Garden and First Planting Celebration on Sunday, April 28, from 2 to 4 p.m. in Knox Park, located at the corner of Adamson and Austin avenues in Carrollton.
A community garden is a single piece of land gardened collectively by a group of people. Community gardens provide residents with fresh produce, as well as satisfying labor, neighborhood improvement, a sense of community and a connection to the environment.
Knox Park Community Garden is a partnership between Tanner Health System, Keep Carroll Beautiful, Incredible Edible Carrollton, the City of Carrollton and Carroll County Master Gardeners. The planting beds are being built on Earth Day by volunteers from Walmart.com 7005 with building materials donated by the Carrollton Home Depot 0132. The City of Carrollton is providing the land, a shed and water hoses and will maintain the areas around the garden during the summer.
“Tanner Health System is extremely excited about supporting and participating in the Knox Park Community Garden through our new Get Healthy, Live Well initiative,” said Denise Taylor, chief community health, strategy and brand officer for Tanner Health System. “Tanner has long been a passionate champion of the benefits of locally-grown food and healthy eating. For example, during the last two summers we’ve hosted farmers’ markets at Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton, we buy and use local produce in our cafeterias whenever possible, and of course, we are a leading partner in the three-year Get Healthy West Georgia initiative that now has more than 2,000 members from Carroll, Haralson and Heard counties—all interested in getting healthy and living well.”
A dedication ceremony for the new community garden will be held at 2 p.m., followed by the first community work day. Carrollton community members are invited to bring family, friends and work gloves for the work day. During the two-hour event, there will be numerous activities for community members of all ages, including children, plus music, food and gardening information.
“We have for years dreamt of working with a group to start a community garden in Carrollton,” said Jacqueline Dost, executive director of Keep Carroll Beautiful. “We do a lot of beautification projects. Community gardening is a very, very beneficial project for communities to have. It lines up well with our mission and we wanted to be a part of it. We’re thrilled with the collaboration that’s taking place.”
Dost’s excitement has proven to be contagious. Three Knox Park Community Garden volunteers—each with different backgrounds and levels of gardening experience—exemplify the strong desire for community participation and an interest in eating healthy, locally grown food and gardening education that they hope the project will generate in other Carrollton residents.
“We live in a wonderful community; we have wonderful community members. One thing that is missing is a community garden,” said Melissa Astin, a mom and one of the first to volunteer. “There’s nothing that brings a community together better than working in the dirt, growing vegetables and having kids running around, playing on the playground watching things grow. In my past professional life I created a community garden, so that’s why I’m here. My hope is to bring together a diverse population of people. We need to all start working together to create an even more cohesive community.”
For Nicole Chapman with Simply Catering, volunteering makes sense as both a mom and business owner.
“The reason why I want to be involved is to raise awareness of the importance of locally grown food, explaining healthy eating habits and practices and knowing where your food comes from,” said Chapman. “It’s something I’m very passionate about it. I use it in my work space. I like to push the effort in my private life. Carrollton is an awesome community. I have children and I want to raise them in an environment that supports local, healthy eating habits and getting to know your farmer—where your food comes from. It’s important to me and to my business.”
Tori Kleffman, who is new to Carrollton, excitedly described her role as a volunteer: “I’m going to be organizing the kids’ activities for the kickoff. We’re going to be making stepping stones that will later be put into the garden. We hope to have sensory stations put into the garden, so kids can come, touch, feel and explore things, and be outside while they are doing it. We also plan to organize events that will bring the community out to the garden at different times and involve the families and kids.”