As children, playing in the dirt was always the highlight of our day. Just having fingers in the mud and playing with worms could make the day wonderful. As we have become adults living our busy lives these luxuries seem to have faded away. But it is believed by many that this enjoyment is not only important for our childhood, it is also fundamental for all stages of life.
Mineral Wells has begun a local community garden for all to participate in. This garden will be hosted to teach folks how to grow their own food, learn how to use rain water as a resource, to serve as a local farmers market, and much more. The community gardens’ president Amy Ringo Lane, is excited to give back to all the people in the area; “I still live on the street where I was raised. So this community is really important to me.”
Civic minded community members of Mineral Wells are making this dream possible. The locals who put this plan in motion are Amy Ringo Lane, Krista Sparks, Michele Burns, Matt Saylor, Krista Sanders, Brooke & Jon Seaman, and Tai Silva, just to name a few. These amazing people have been meeting as often as twice a week to make this garden grow. Their acre lot is located at 500 SE 2nd Ave. They have a stable board of directors that have secured their 5O1c3 tax status as a nonprofit organization. The group had a wonderful groundbreaking that took place from 9 AM to 3 PM on April 17th. The clearing of the space was done by High Ridge Church members and other volunteers. These wonderful people deserve our admiration and thanks for spending the day clearing the area of weeds and shrubs, building garden beds and benches out of pallets and starting the compost bins.
Matt notes this event was an achievement, “Food really does bring everyone together…I definitely think it was an overwhelming success. Seeing a group of people get together to come out and do things as unglamorous as pulling weeds. But everyone had an incredible time. I didn’t see a single person without a huge smile on their face.” And Tai is very proud to be a part of a community that really came together to support the establishment of our community garden. She says, “It was like a good old-fashioned, barn raising without the barn. Because people literally just came together to flex their skills.”
This was the first step of many in order to create something life-changing. Michele is very excited that this garden is coming together for the benefit of us all. She says, “I think everybody should have the ability to grow food. Or if they don’t know how to grow food; I then hope we could teach people how to do that. To live and not have to worry about where food comes from.”
Recent events such as COVID-19 and the intense ice storm of February 2021 have taught us that learning to grow your own food, or obtain your own fresh water can be vital skills for everyone.
The group will be hosting its’ first farmers market in the summer of 2021. Brooke exclaims her pride in this project and how it will benefit the future. She says, “I love that we’re going to be teaching our children how to do this. It’s all about them, our kids. The next generations and making life better for them. To be more sustainable.”
For more information on this project connect with them on Facebook using the following link https://www.facebook.com/Letsgrowcrazynow and their formal mailing address is PO Box 573, MW 76068. They do plan on accepting donations and hosting fundraising events to secure the stability of this project. Last but not least, the group put together an amazing video for you all which provides their mission and ideals.
Writer | I graduated from Weatherford College with an Associates in Art, focusing on history, creative writings, sociology, and humanities. Experience in child development, client care, and runs local Spoken Word Poetry group for young teens.
