Community garden brings green thumbs to charity

Commerce Community Garden is designed to engage Commerce residents and Texas A&M University-Commerce students in a charitable, community-building endeavor.

A non-profit organization, the garden is located behind First United Methodist Church-Commerce (FUMC-Commerce), and started in 2009.

FUMC-Commerce leases the acreage for the garden.

"We lease the space for $1 a year from them, so that's really nice that they donated that," A&M-Commerce assistant photography professor Vaughn Wascovich said.

Wascovich has been involved in the garden's development since it's beginning.

"It just kind of came out of an idea for people to take a little bit more responsibility for their own food and what they eat," he said.

According to Wascovich, the garden is comprised of 36 raised plant beds and a few acres of row crops for corn, soybeans, purple hull peas, and black-eyed peas.

"The row crops we give to the food bank or some churches and things like that, just to try to help the poor folks," he said.

The raised plant beds are for individual rental.

"Anyone can come there and they basically lease or rent the space for a year for about $40 and plant whatever produce they desire," he said. "This year we're going to add at least nine more beds so we have forty-five beds over there."

Funding for the garden's expenses flows primarily from donations.

"We have non-profit status right now for the garden, so we can apply for grants and stuff," Wascovich said. "It just takes time and energy to do that."

A group from the city of Commerce is also involved in the garden's development.

"We have a committee that's become a part of the Commerce Office of Cultural Affairs which is the umbrella organization that allows the garden to be non-profit. So it's underneath that," Wascovich said.

Wascovich hopes to see more community gardens installed throughout Commerce.

"I'd love to see six of these gardens in town," Wascovich said. "I'd love to get one at the high school. I'd love to get one here on campus and actually have a demonstration garden on campus somewhere in the center of campus, not out at the greenhouse. Just something small that would get people excited about it."

Wascovich said a property on Neal Street is being considered for the site of a public garden, which anyone would be welcome to take from, as opposed to individually leased beds.

Student participation in garden activities has been slow to multiply, but Wascovich remains optimistic.

"There's been some (student involvement)," Wascovich said, "and I'd like to get more. The challenge with the students is that most of them go away for the summer, so having a garden here doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but there are some."

Several groups on campus have contributed to the gardens as well.

"We had a fraternity come over and help us last year. We had some Indian students last year that worked over there that were really terrific, and they introduced some different vegetables that we had never heard of here. So those kind of opportunities, I think, are really exciting."

Hunt County's Precinct 4 commissioner Jim Latham also demonstrated support for the garden.

"He has been really active with it, so we've gotten that kind of support," Wascovich said.

The garden project demonstrates the importance of partnership between the community and A&M-Commerce.

"Part of it is food and part of it is community too," he said. "Communities don't just exist without nurturing them, so this is a way to sort of nurture the community and build relationships."

Commerce resident Carmen Taylor sees the garden as an asset to the community.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," she said.

The Commerce Community Garden Association (CCGA) is making efforts to spread further interest in the garden to the community.

"We're going to have a workday coming up, I think in a couple of weeks, where we're going to build the other nine beds," Wascovich said. "Then in March, we're going to have a kickoff for people who want to come out, and we'll have a barbecue out there, if they want to help or if they want to get a plot or whatever."

According the CCGA's blog, commercecga.blogspot.com, the workday is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 27. The "membership social" will be held March 27.

Anyone interested in volunteering or further information may contact Wascovich at vaughn_wascovich@tamu-commerce.edu or 573-220-5968.