For the Gazette

Golden Sands RC&D Council to team up with Wisconsin River Academy for Neighborhood Garden refurbishing project

STEVENS POINT — On May 15, the Stevens Point Area Neighborhood Gardens at the Cornell/Whitney Street site will get a facelift with the help of students from Wisconsin River Academy, a local charter school. The Neighborhood

Gardens are a project of the Golden Sands Resource Conservation & Development Council, Inc. that rely on the help of volunteers for necessary maintenance, like the bed frame replacement the students have planned for the Cornell/Whitney site. Established in 2007, the Stevens Point Area Neighborhood Gardens have two sites, Franklin Street and Cornell/Whitney Streets. The wood frames around the raised beds needs to be replaced every 5-10 years, an expensive and time consuming project. The nFranklin Street gardens were renovated in 2014 with the help of a memorial donation from the Cheryl Schiefelbein family.

Now the Cornell/Whitney Street gardens are getting their turn, thanks to volunteer power provided by the Wisconsin River Academy students. A shop class at Stevens Point Area Senior High will pre-cut the lumber to be used at the site.

“If it weren’t for donations and volunteer labor, we would have to charge a much higher fee for renting garden plots,” says Amy Thorstenson, Executive Director for Golden Sands RC&D, “…and that would defeat the whole purpose of the Neighborhood Gardens.”

Golden Sands RC&D created the Stevens Point Area Neighborhood Gardens as a tool for making organic, locally grown vegetables more affordable and accessible to the general public. For people with small yards, or who rent and do not have a yard, the Neighborhood Gardens provide a space of their own to plant a garden. The community feel to the gardens also promotes mentorship between experienced gardeners and novices.

Rental plots are still available for the 2018 gardening season at the Cornell/Whitney site. The May 15 renovations are not expected to disturb the soil of the raised beds, and gardeners need not hold off on planting. Contact Golden Sands RC&D to register: [email protected] or 715-343-6215.