Raised Gardens Installed at the Bill Stewart Activity Center

by Mike Roden, RC&D Coordinator, Alabama’s Mountains, Rivers and Valleys RC&D Council

Every once in a while a project comes along that re-affirms my belief in the goodness of people. On June 4th I was privileged to see Jerry Chenault with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s Non-Traditional Program and Bill Stewart Activity Center Director Donna Dutton, with smiles on their faces as they officially opened their raised bed gardens.

The idea was simple. Develop raised bed gardens that would provide easy access to those that might have trouble bending down in a traditional garden setting. The idea was presented to the Alabama’s Mountains, Rivers and Valleys RC&D Council and with help of Representative Jody Letson, and was approved for a grant of $2,000. In addition Yeager Gin Company provided gin trash to help fill the beds. The pieces were in place.

The part of this project that is special for me is the fact that Donna and Jerry involved some of the clients at the center to help build and plant the gardens. Grants don’t usually produce a sense of excitement and pride like I saw on that day. There is something about planting things and watching how they grow that makes a body feel good. That excitement is exactly what I witnessed on that day.

< Back to Success Stories