On Monday, Aug. 12, three members of Antioch New England University’s Community Garden Connections joined Andy Bohannon, Parks, Recreation and Facilities director, to revitalize the raised garden beds at the Keene Recreation Center.
The group included Dr. Libby McCann, director of the environmental education concentration in the Environmental Studies Department, and co-director of Community Garden Connections; doctoral student Rachel Brice, Cheshire County’s Urban Ag and Gardens coordinator; and master’s student Alex Lacy, Antioch University’s compost coordinator and co-chair of the Student Alliance.
The team used garden tools made available through a new program in the area, Monadnock Grows Together. These tools are available to check out for free from the Keene Public Library. Other resources now available at the library include free seeds.
Monadnock Grows Together is a new regional program that offers a range of education, technical assistance, gardening equipment and more, to residents interested and engaged in backyard gardening and small-scale urban farming.
Monadnock Grows Together is an Urban Agriculture project developed in partnership by the Cheshire County Conservation District, Antioch University’s Community Garden Connections, the Keene Public Library, and the National Center for Appropriate Technology. Funding for this urban agriculture conservation grant is provided through a partnership with the National Association of Conservation Districts and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service to boost technical capacity nationwide.