ECHO holds Community Garden Training
Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization recently held gardening classes for individuals who work with nonprofit agencies.
“It came out of numerous requests from nonprofits in the area who wanted to start gardens,” said Danielle Flood, ECHO public relations and communications manager. “They needed help and pointers.”
The series of classes were so well received that another session is planned for the future.
“We capped it at 30 individuals, and we now have a waiting list for our next training or workshop,” she said.
A variety of subjects were discussed.
“We had different sessions,” Flood said. “They included ‘The Realities of Gardening in Southwest Florida,’ ‘Preparing the Soil and Mulching,’ ‘Perennial Vegetables,’ ‘Innovative Gardening Techniques’ and ‘Lessons with School Gardens.’ We had someone who had been a consultant on various school gardens, and we have been consultants on them, too.”
ECHO worked with Bonita Springs Middle School to install a garden on the grounds.
Participating agencies varied, according to Flood.
“We had various schools, also Child Care of Southwest Florida, Cape Coral Special Populations, Lee County Department of Human Services, Children’s Network of Southwest Florida and more,” she said.
The feedback was extremely positive, said Flood.
“We had a survey,” she said. “They [participants] rated it very high. They said things like ‘good realistic thoughts when planning’ and ‘very practical’ – especially with class considerations.
“As far as ‘Innovative Gardening Techniques,’ many said we are going to try them.”
Flood said ECHO doesn’t know when the next session will be held, but she suggests interested parties call her directly at 567-3312 to get on a list.
ECHO provides sustainable solutions to fight world hunger. You can learn more about ECHO at echonet.org.