Rock County Community Garden Program

The Rock County UW-Extension office, in conjunction with the Rock Prairie Master Gardener Association, Rotary Botanical Gardens and other community partners, is initiating an effort to promote community-based gardens throughout the county. 

Our goals are to:

• Increase food security activities
• Develop capacity among existing community food resources in low income and underserved communities in the Rock County area
• Improve economic self-sufficiency
• Increase community access to culturally appropriate and nutritious food
• Make connections between community members, organizations and resources to ensure the viability and longevity of county-wide food system.

Specific goals include:

• Improve family fruit and vegetable production, consumption and access in low-income neighborhoods.
• Improve accessibility and utilization of diverse, sustainable seed and plants.
• Increase interaction among people in low-income neighborhoods.
• Strengthen relationships between low-income/resource people in neighborhoods with both city, county and extra-neighborhood resources.
• Increase production of fresh perennial foods in public and semi-public neighborhoods.
• Expand access to fresh perennial foods for low-income residents.
• Expand economic activity associated with existing community gardening.
• Increase food production in existing community gardens.

Rock County UW-Extension offers support to community groups, schools and organizations who wish to start a shared garden space for food production and educational purposes.  In addition to promoting locally grown produce, outdoor family activities and nutrition education, this program strives to create a network of like-minded individuals for mutual assistance and reassurance in the community garden process.

What Rock County UW-Extension provides:

• Collaboration with area vendors for seeds, transplants and other donations or discounted items.
• Assistance with the creation and maintenance of the garden space, including initial tilling, soil testing, and amendment recommendations. 
• Necessary participation waivers and statistical documentation sheets.
• Support and information.
• Access to grants (when available) and assistance in pursuing funding and donations.
• In qualifying cases, a nutrition educator can provide an educational component to the garden.

What Rock County UW-Extension asks of its community garden partners:

• Documented permission to host a garden in an appropriate location.
• Qualified, dedicated liaison to coordinate garden efforts at the location
• Reliable support from students, congregation, or community base for the general work in the garden space.
• Access to water and basic tools (shovel, hoe, hose, gloves, etc.)
• Form a reasonable plan for utilization of product grown in the garden.
• Willingness to document program, including photographs, participation numbers and demographics and amount of produce harvested and how utilized.

Useful links:

• UW-Extension FEEDs program
• American Community Garden Association

For information pertaining to the Rock County Community Garden Program, please contact: