Brittingham Park Garden Lottery Ends Today

March 19, 2013 7:55 am

If you want a plot, act today!

Attached please find information announcing the upcoming lottery for garden plots at the new community garden in Brittingham Park. The Brittingham Community Garden will be located next to the playground between the Park View Apartments (between W. Main Street and W. Washington Avenue) and the bike path. The garden’s selection process favors neighbors living within a half mile radius of the garden. This is a very exciting new opportunity for downtown gardeners.

Please note the upcoming deadline for submitting an application to the garden plot lottery is this Wednesday, March 20.

For more information, please contact Shelly Strom, Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, at (608) 246-4730 or shellys@cacscw.org.

Do you want to garden at Brittingham this summer?
¿Quisiera usted un huerto para cultivar su propia comida? – Para Espanol: M Adams (414) 430-1321
Puas nyiam ua teb zaub nyob ze ib cheeb tsam vaj tse? – Hmong Contact: Mee Vang (608) 520-3756

What is a community garden?
A community garden is an area of land maintained by members growing fresh food for non-commercial use. Gardeners plant and harvest produce from their own plots. Each gardener chooses what they will grow and how they will design their own plot. Gardeners take care of their plot at least once a week. In addition, each household supports the garden as a whole by maintaining common areas and attending meetings.

How much does it cost?
Cost for the 2013 season is $10 or more depending on your family income. Some supplies such as compost, seeds, tools and water access are included in your fee. Gardening experience is not required!

Lottery Process for the Brittingham Community Garden
We are excited to announce that the Brittingham Community Garden Committee has established a site for the garden
and is ready to accept applications for garden plots. The Brittingham Community Garden will be located in Brittingham Park next to the playground between the Park View Apartments and the bike path and will have approximately 28 plots that are 10×20 feet in area each. The garden will be open to the public for viewing and learning. Due to the collaborative effort of many stakeholders throughout the past two years and a high demand for garden plots, we will
hold a lottery for garden plot allocation. Since the effort to establish this garden was strongly driven by a need for gardening space for the elderly and disabled, the garden committee has decided to allocate the plots with the
following distribution:
– Three plots will include raised beds which will be designated for those requiring raised beds to garden successfully.
– Three plots will be designated for those leaders who have worked to organize the community around this issue for the past two years. This is standard practice in all community garden efforts. Those who have worked to establish the garden continue organize the garden as well.
– One plot will be designated as a youth garden.
– Eleven plots will be allocated to elderly residents living in the Monona Bay neighborhood or within a half-mile of the garden. The Monona Bay neighborhood includes the Triangle.
– Ten plots will be open to residents of any age living in the Monona Bay neighborhood or within a half-mile of the garden. Those residents living outside the defined radius will be considered for a plot only if there is available space remaining once the immediate neighborhood is served.

The lottery for plots will be held on Monday, April 1st at 5pm at the Bayview Community Center board room (601 Bayview) in conjunction with the garden committee’s monthly meeting. You are not required to be present at this event
but you are welcome to come and observe the process if you wish . The individuals whose name s are drawn will be contacted within five days with details regarding registration.

All gardeners with plots must attend the registration meeting on April 14 at the Bayview Community Center Community Room (2nd floor) from 3:30 -5:00 pm. Registration attendance will be required so gardeners can learn about the community garden, pay dues, etc. Those who are not picked in the first round will be added to a waitlist in the order they are drawn from the pool of names. This waitlist will carry over to the next year, and the system for plot allotment will be revisited in 2015.

To enter your household in the lottery for a plot, Please fill out this survey by March 20 and return it to Shelly Strom, Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, 1717 N. Stoughton Road, Madison WI 53704. You may also return this form via email to shellys@cacscw.org.

For more information on community gardening in Madison, visit the CAC webpage: http://www.cacscw.org/gardens.php
or call Shelly Strom at 246-4730 ext 209.