It’s time for Cowboys and Cowgirls to get dirty in Laramie! Feeding Laramie Valley, a local nonprofit, is searching for volunteers to help build the new community garden in the Kiwanis Park located off North Hayes Street.
“There is an amazing active community in west Laramie,” said Katherine Ann Case, Feeding Laramie Valley community garden organizer, “and they always have to come a long way to get to all the things they need. It was overdue that something like this came to them.”
There are no grocery stores in west Laramie so this garden will primarily be for vegetables and other crops for the community.
The organization will also provide guidance for the west Laramie community in gardening at Kiwanis Park on the proper seasons to plant specific fruits or vegetables and what will benefit each individual, family, or group according to their taste and culture. This way community members will have better success in the garden and a healthier lifestyle.
The water sources for the garden, which consist of four underground pipelines leading to accessible faucets above ground, were completed Oct. 30. This infrastructure will have long lasting effects for the surrounding neighborhood.
The garden as a whole is expected to be completed Nov. 5 and will get a grand opening in April. The organization wishes to finish the production now so the garden is ready for planting come spring.
“It’s been in the works for years,” said Case. “It’s one of the only two grants in Wyoming for AARP challenge grants and it has to be completed by Nov. 5 as part of the challenge, but its a collaborative effort so it’s taken time.”
Volunteers have been flowing through the park’s garden in order to complete the AARP challenge on time. There have been residents from near and far, University of Wyoming students, local public school students, and many other individuals from multiple backgrounds coming together for this project. Feeding Laramie Valley has received multiple donations for the garden, which helped pay for the pipelines most recently, and Case is beyond happy for the amount of helping hands arriving on the daily.
“Our mission is long term sustainable food security for Albany County, so we do a variety of things to that end including other community gardens, food production and food sharing,” Case said.
Case has been a part of the Feeding Laramie Valley only for the past two months, but she has already dedicated her career to helping the Wyoming community. Currently, Case and the organization are working with the city of Laramie to get a long-term lease signed on a small amount of land on Monolith Ranch to expand food production there as well.
These are all small steps that are being made by Feeding Laramie Valley and the abundance of volunteers, but once the construction is completed and the plants have sprouted, Wyoming will have a healthier and stronger living situation for the state’s population as a whole.
For more information about this project, visit FeedingLaramieValley.org
