Community Gardens: A Good Idea Takes Root

When a good idea takes root, it sometimes flourishes. Burnsville’s new community gardens are doing just that — not only are there vegetables aplenty, but enough people wanted to get their hands dirty this summer that nearly every available plot is blooming.

“It took on a life of its own,” said Tom Kackman, who watched his wife, Elizabeth, accept a framed copy of the Community Garden Day proclamation during Monday’s Burnsville City Council meeting.

Although the first city-hosted community garden in Neill Park started in 2008, the gardening idea really blossomed under Kackman’s care the past couple of years.

They see this as a way to encourage people to live a healthy lifestyle and for the new multi-cultural, multi-aged face of Burnsville to come together as a community.

The Kackmans are members of The International Outreach Church (IOC) in Burnsville. In 2009, they convinced church leaders to till up one acre of land into 56 plots. The planting began and their ideas germinated and spread. They forged new partnerships that led this year to two more community gardens – one at Valley Natural Foods and at the city’s Wolk Park. They also planned gardening classes for kids and started the Kenyan Women’s Sustainable Farm Project at the church.

The Kackmans hope this is only the beginning. They formed the nonprofit Woodhill Urban Agriculture to help move the projects forward. But at the center of it all is vacant land that they imagine as gardens.

“We just moved to the Heart of the City,” Tom Kackman said. “There’s a lot of open land there. Wouldn’t gardens be nice?”

In celebration of all urban gardeners, Community Garden Day will be held throughout the Twin Cities on Saturday, Aug. 6.

Burnsville events include Mayor Elizabeth Kautz planting the first tree in what is hoped to be an orchard in Wolk Park.

Fruits of the City is another Kackman idea that is taking root. Elizabeth Kackman told the city council that several fruit trees have been donated. She noted that all their work has been accomplished through donations and grants. The tree planting is to take place at Wolk Park at 9 a.m.

Thirty-five community gardens throughout the Twin Cities will be available for viewing on aug. 6. For locations, go to the Gardeningmatter.org website.

Gardens on tour in south-of-the river communities are, (as of Aug. 2):

Partnership Garden - 12155 Johnny Cake Ridge Road Apple Valley;

Sts. Martha & Mary Episcopal Church Gardens - 4180 Lexington Ave. S. Eagan. There will be music, games, a show case of plants and harvested vegetables, hors d’oeuvres.

Garden to Table - 3910 Rahn Road Eagan. Features 10 a.m.-2 p.m. garden tours, a meal and a Master Gardener presentation;

Co-op Community Gardens - Valley Natural Foods, 13750 CR 11 Burnsville;

IOC Community Garden - 1512 Woodhill Road Burnsville. Enjoy ethnic food samples, children’s activities;

Wolk Park Community Garden - 13800 Parkwood Lane Burnsville, celebrate from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. with the planting of an orchard tree.