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Community Lutheran Church Community Garden (2022) Print
2022 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Community Gardens
└ Community Gardens
Hill City's community garden needed a reliable water source to expand food production for local families and older adults. The project installed a 1,500-gallon cistern connected to a solar-powered pump, ensuring steady irrigation. Volunteers helped prepare and place the cistern, and a kick-off event marked the upgrade. The improvement makes the garden more sustainable, enabling greater participation and more produce for food pantries and homebound residents. "It brings great joy to see those little seeds become big plants and to see all the visiting and teaching and learning that happens," a participant said.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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Fulton, NY
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: A neglected downtown gazebo was long in disrepair, eroding community pride and limiting public use. Volunteers revived it by cleaning, painting and adding flowers, trees and banners, turning it into a centerpiece. Older adults led improvements to 17 public gardens and created a new logo displayed on garden flags citywide. The effort reignited civic spirit, prompting the return of the Fulton Garden Club after 15 years. "Wow that looks great... You guys are the best! Thank you for caring," said one resident. Plans for more projects are already underway.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
San Juan, PR
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Older residents in a low-income area faced food insecurity and lacked accessible gardening options. The project installed raised beds with self-watering systems and added benches, making gardening easier for volunteers with mobility challenges. Free herbal medicine workshops taught residents to create remedies from garden plants, fostering engagement and self-sufficiency. The garden now supports regular harvests and volunteer leadership, with plans for home gardens tied to new housing projects. "It is heartwarming watching volunteers gush about food grown here," one participant said, reflecting the sense of community the effort created.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Stone Mountain, GA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Immigrant and refugee growers in Stone Mountain needed better resources and infrastructure to farm collectively. The grant funded upgrades at two sites-Indian Creek MARTA Station Farm and North Dekalb Mall Garden-adding land improvements, garden tools, seed bins and picnic tables. These enhancements created safer, more functional spaces for older adults and strengthened community engagement. Both gardens are now part of long-term plans, including a partnership with Atlanta's transit authority and integration into a major mixed-use redevelopment. This helps position growers to sell produce locally and sustain food access.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Rapid City, SD
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2017
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: To increase awareness of the local book club and other community activities, NeighborWorks designed and installed 30 flags in the North Rapid neighborhood. A local artists created designs for the flags and residents worked together to approve wording for each one. Volunteers then installed flags on utility poles throughout the neighborhood. Project organizers say that since the flags appeared, local groups have received inquiries about how to become more involved in local activities.
Rapid City, SD
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Visitors in busy community spaces often had no place to sit, leaving people without a comfortable spot to rest during walks or long visits. To address this, the group partnered with a welding class to design and build two ADA-compliant benches, which were finished with powder coating and installed on new concrete pads. Placing them in the market park created the only seating in that area and offered shaded resting spots for people spending time there. Members said the project helped them recognize broader unmet needs in their community and inspired future efforts. One volunteer noted that the benches were placed in "perfect shaded areas", making the park easier for people to enjoy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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