Mission

Over the past six years, community gardeners in Des Moines have been beautifying street corners, growing food at low-income housing facilities, educating new gardeners, and building relationships between neighbors. The Des Moines Urban Garden Program, a program of the Des Moines Park and Recreation Department, supports grassroots community greening efforts through education and resources

 

• 7 Low-income Housing Projects
• 29 Neighborhood Associations
• 22 Schools
• 6 Youth Programs
• 3 Libraries
• 8 Shelters

Beautification

• Distributed 150,000 flowering annuals
• Assisted Keep Des Moines Beautiful in distributing 24,000 spring flowering bulbs
• Delivered compost and woodchips to 40 sites
• Great Perennial Divide received and distributed 2700 plant donations in the spring and fall
• Coordinated planting of 50 trees at Grandview Golf Course
  

Food Security

• Promoted the Plant a Row for the Hungry campaign
• Installed perennial edible landscape designs at House of Mercy, St. Mary’s Food Pantry and Door of Faith
• Developed perennial edible landscape designs for King School, Orchard Place and Capitol Park Neighborhood
• Delivered 30 backyard kitchen gardens to low-income households in the Carpenter and Capitol East neighborhoods

Education

• 30 people representing 9 community gardens attended the 6 hour Community Garden training series
• Staff and volunteers spent approximately 500 hours with on-site consultation and training
  100 people attended the 3rd annual School and Community Garden Conference

Community Development

• Developed community garden manual with community organizing strategies
• Train community groups to use gardens as a community development tool
• Participated in the Making Connections Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Community Builders Team
• Coordinated the Neighborhood Grants for Growth - awarded 31 grants
  

Urban Conservation

• Created 5 rain gardens and 13 native prairie plantings in public green spaces in Des Moines.
• Trained 40 horticulture staff to plant and maintain native plantings within the park system
• Trained 56 teachers in Project Bluestem environmental education curriculum
• Held a 8 week long Organic Gardening class series attended by 25 people
• Assisted in the development of the “Urban Conservation” committee of the Park Board.
• Secured $40,000 in funding from REAP Conservation Education funds.