News 
27th August 2011
Garden project brings community together
Residents in Austin, Texas have pulled together to turn a vacant piece of ground next to an empty apartment block into a thriving community garden, which has also included work from students at the local high school.
Seamus Ford, founder of the Root-Riot Urban Garden Network spotted potential in the grounds and immediately set about contacting neighbours, church groups and even the nearby fire station to see if there was interest in creating a communal green space for the community.
There was immediate interest from all concerned and the clean-up began with volunteers from all over town coming to clear the way for the new green space. PTA members of the local high school rallied to involve pupils and teachers to also take part, identifying the gardens as somewhere they could help create as well as giving the high school pupils an opportunity to learn about growing food.
One resident, who had longed for her own garden but couldn’t due to living in an apartment block, has installed three beds in the community garden, growing plants and food.
Read more about the garden project at http://austintalks.org/2011/08/community-garden-continues-to-unite-residents/
The scheme is similar to projects which were funded by The Green Insurance Green Grants initiative last year, where we allocated £24,000 worth of funding to set up and support new eco projects across the UK , including community gardens such as the one in Austin. Details of our green grants scheme is here