ABOUT DUG

OUR VISION

A city rich with accessible green spaces and a food system that is just and equitable for all with universal access to fresh, healthy food and the knowledge and resources to grow your own.

OUR MISSION

To preserve and expand urban green spaces while sharing knowledge and resources to grow food in community.

OUR VALUES

Earn TRUST
Demonstrate INTEGRITY
Embrace EQUITY
Build COMMUNITY
Inspire CURIOSITY

Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) was established in 1985 to support Denver residents in creating sustainable, food-producing neighborhood community gardens. Over the past 35+ years, our network of community gardens has expanded to six metro Denver counties as we have championed the power of plants, the people who grow them, and the communities they nourish.

During that time our program reach has extended to offering educational resources and skill-building in urban growing for all ages, as well as providing access to seeds, seedlings, and an interconnected network that builds community resilience by growing local, fresh, organic food together.

We currently operate more than 180 community gardens throughout Metro Denver, including more than 70 school-based community gardens. In addition to building and supporting community gardens, we operate DeLaney Community Farm, the Master Composter Training Program, the Master Community Gardener Training Program, Grow a Garden, and provide extensive opportunities for youth education in nutrition and gardening.

Learn more about our impact

How We Support Our Gardens

Provide approved access to the land where communities can come together to grow food
Establish and maintain working relations with garden property owner agencies
Negotiate and maintain garden site use agreements
Recruit & support garden leadership
Support gardener recruitment and placement
Mediate inter-community gardener conflicts when necessary
Respond to inquiries from the general public
Provide liability insurance coverage for gardens
Serve as liaison between gardens and city officials, agencies and water providers
Provide fiscal management of garden accounts (when requested)
Provide garden maintenance support (eg, turning water off/on seasonally, helping with repairs, etc.)
Coordinate volunteer groups and supervise large maintenance and improvement projects
Provide school gardens with volunteer background checks, approved protocols and programming support