Community Gardens Program History
Our Community Gardens Program has been around since 1980! Here are some of the highlights of its long history.
1980: Margie Raugh directs the first CGC-built community garden, the Over-The-Rhine People’s Garden.
1981: The Neighborhood Gardens Program is established at the Civic Garden Center. The Martin Luther King Garden and two other gardens are built.
1982: The Riddel-Yates Garden in Covington is established, as well as two more gardens.
1983: The Center for Chemical Addiction Treatment (CCAT) Garden is built along with four others. Community Gardens Summer Tours begin.
1985: The Mt. Auburn Food Park and Marlowe House Garden open.
1986: The Madisonville Community Garden and Pendleton Children’s gardens are built, and the Spring Grove community garden is started.
1987: The Pleasant Street Garden is established.
1988: The Pleasant Street Garden receives the Best Conversion of Land Use Award from Kroger, and the Walnut Hills Community Garden is established.
1989: The Race Street Children’s Garden is established as a needed expansion of the Pleasant Street Garden.
1990: The Rothenberg Community Garden is established (later to become Permaganic’s Eco Garden).
1991: The Green St. Children’s Garden opens.
1995: The W. McMicken Community Garden opens.
1996: The Patricia Jenkins Memorial Garden is established. The W. McMicken Garden wins second place in the Keep Cincinnati Clean and Beautiful contest.
1997: The Agnes Wagner McKie Community Garden opens. Neighborhood gardens receive recognition for programs for leadership in promoting cross-cultural understanding from The Colors of Cincinnati.
1998: Received the President’s Award by the Ohio Conference of Community Development, Beacon Glenn Community Garden established
1999: John J Gunther HUD Awards from Cincinnati Department of Neighborhood Services. The Race Street Children’s Garden receives the Seeds of Hope Award and is recognized as one of the top 26 children’s gardens in the country by Ertl Toys and John Deere Kids.
2000: The Seeds Garden is built (later to become the Julie Hanser Garden, then the Glean and Share Garden).
2001: The Holloway Hope Garden is built, along with 11 other gardens.
2002-2010: 17 gardens built, including Albion, East End Veterans, NEXUS Garden, and Clifton.
2010-2015: The Madisonville Foraging Garden is established.
2015: The Civic Garden Center Community Garden Network is formalized, with the goal of creating a “community of community gardens.”
2015-2019: Over 30 community gardens are built or join the CGC Community Garden network,
2017: Greg Potter, then the CGC’s Community Garden Coordinator, receives the Gardener Recognition Award from the Cincinnati Horticultural Society.
2020: The Anderson Urban Farm, Miami Woods CG, Hartwell United Methodist Church, and three more gardens are built and join the Network.
2021: 12 gardens are added, including six in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
2022: We launch our free HUB Garden summer class series.
Want to become a part of community garden history?
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