Urban Agriculture: 2024 In Review
In 2024, we continued to build community through our collective passion and work within the Urban Agriculture Program that emerged in 2023. By supporting our growing network, we were able to empower individuals and communities through sustainable agriculture, education and community development. This work allows us to utilize practices that enhance and protect our natural environment and the health of community members in these vulnerable environments.
Community Gardens
Urban agriculture and food systems are multifaceted and intricate. Urban farming, the small-scale cultivation of crops and community gardens have become increasingly popular throughout Cincinnati. As we connect Greater Cincinnati residents to fresh food, we focus on equity and making sure everyone has access to local food.
Here are some highlights from our Community Gardens Program in 2024:
We added four new gardens to our network: St Bernard Community Garden, Mt. Airy Commons Community Garden, Whitewater Community Garden and Beautiful Woodlawn Garden. Three were established with the help of CGDT graduates, and one garden manager will receive their Civic Gardener Development Training Certificate in 2025.
We installed native pollinator gardens in several of our community gardens using plants grown at the CGC by our staff and volunteers. These gardens will help support our local ecosystem and wildlife while benefiting the gardens they’re in and their surrounding communities.
We were able to work closely with the City of Cincinnati to install water access to our Concord Community Garden in Walnut Hills to ensure this garden can produce larger crop yields and contribute to the local food system.
In September, we hosted our annual Flavors of the Community Garden event for gardeners in our network to come together and celebrate the season’s bounty.
“The Civic Garden Center helped to create and maintain the Spring Grove Village Community Garden in 1999 and has been with us every step of the way since then! Most importantly, CGC connects us with its network of garden volunteers from local gardeners, schools, companies, churches, and colleges. CGC volunteers have helped us to pull millions of weeds, built 33 wooden garden beds, and moved multiple tons of leaf compost into those beds. We are the garden we are today because of the CGC’s community garden coordinators and volunteers, and we look forward to our continued partnership in the coming years. Thank you for all you do for community gardens!”
HUB Garden Classes
When community members face a variety of barriers, it’s ideal to foster comprehensive community engagement and empowerment by bringing people together to work towards a common goal of food security and self-sufficiency in a garden setting. One of the barriers we strive to address is transportation.
Many of the gardens in our network are located many miles from fresh produce vendors. Our summer Hub Garden classes allow us to bring new and experienced gardeners together to learn traditional and innovative gardening techniques and topics. In 2024, we completed 16 HUB Garden classes on topics such as medicinal plant ID, soil health, and reclaiming spaces for crop production. We also enhanced our collaboration with Cincinnati State’s Horticulture and Urban Agriculture Program co-op program to provide participants with knowledgeable instructors in various gardening topics. Decreasing the number of classes this year and focusing on feedback from people in Cincinnati’s agricultural community led to a 2 percent increase in attendance.
“I am motivated by the mission to reconnect people with nature, and there is no more significant relationship in life than that between one and their source of food. Working with Kymisha I have entered a colorful new world of food crops that has helped me begin my own personal healing process with nature. My work within the Civic Garden Center’s Urban Agriculture program has helped me build confidence in my ability to learn from, communicate and collaborate with others.
The classes and programs I have helped to develop have been greatly informed by my horticultural instruction at Cincinnati State, and it has been extremely rewarding to apply my lessons practically and to share that spark of joy that studying nature brings me. The Civic Garden Center has provided me with the opportunity, support and platform to communicate my knowledge and love of plants. I have found a place full of enthusiastic and intelligent people who uplift and empower each other in the name of building resilient communities and ecosystems. I am truly honored to be a part of this group, and I am excited to continue my path with them into the future.”
Community Garden Development Training (CGDT)
Teaching agriculture in urban environments offers numerous benefits. A major one is that it helps individuals develop skills and knowledge in sustainable food production, empowering them to grow their own food and contribute to their local food systems. In 2024, our graduating CGDT class increased by 2 percent, with 24 participants receiving their certificates—three of whom helped to establish successful community gardens in their neighborhoods.
Market Garden Training (MGT)
In 2024, we launched our Market Garden Training pilot program for experienced gardeners who wanted to take their knowledge and experience to the next level while contributing to their local food system. The six-part training focused on business principles and how to apply them in a small-scale, for-profit agricultural setting. We collaborated with presenters from the Ohio Farmers Market Association, Ohio Department of Agriculture and many current experienced marketers in the Greater Cincinnati area.
Looking Ahead
In 2025, we expect to continue increasing our community garden program, equip strong future garden coordinators through our CGDT program and pilot a backyard garden program called Bountiful Backyards. We will continue to build relationships and community to make healthy local food accessible to more people through our HUB Garden classes in the summer months and multiple garden-related classes throughout the year. Whether you grow food at home or in a community setting, you’re welcome to subscribe to our monthly Community Garden Connection newsletter and follow along!