Did you know there is a community garden at Lone Tree Elementary School? The idea for a community garden was planted in 2013, and two years later, it blossomed into a great learning space for students and the community to enjoy!
In 2013, Lone Tree Elementary World Class Learning Specialist Kay Tucker had an idea for growing a learning garden for her students. This included incorporating paths, small-themed garden beds, learning areas with seating options, a large area for community gardening, weather tracking devices, garden art, recycling/composting area, a QR code driven nature walk and so much more.
Once the school garden idea began to flourish, they reached out to the City of Lone Tree for help in collaborating with them to make the vision grow even more.
With direction from the City Council, Jennifer Drybread, Planning Manager for the City, helped bring all the partners to make it a reality. The City partnered with Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) to help support Lone Tree Elementary School with their efforts. DUG, through a joint agreement set up in 2015, provides admin support, garden maintenance support, volunteer coordination and much more. They are a wonderful collaborator with over 180 active community gardens in their network.
Plots in the garden are rented each year by paying a small plot fee through an online registration with DUG and filling out a school volunteer form. Since there are a limited number of plots, the prior year plot holders have the option to keep their plot and then any available plots are assigned to new gardeners on a first come, first serve basis.
This garden has been a success thanks to Home Depot, Charles Schwab, Safeway and Bellco Credit Union, among others, who donated their time, money, expertise, and materials over the years.
To learn more about the community garden, including how to rent a plot, click here.