Letter from the Director

Spring letter from DUG Executive Director Michael Buchenau
This letter was also published in the Spring 2010 Edition of The Underground News.

Already deep into our 25^th Anniversary year, DUG has never been busier supporting the network of new and existing community gardens throughout the Metro Area. Over 30 new Master Composters and 25 new Master Community Gardeners have begun their outreach in the community. DUG’s corps of Connecting Generation volunteers has, in two very short years, expanded to 20 committed adults working intensively in 7 DUG school gardens.

DUG’s collaborative work with partner organizations is in full swing, adding significant value to the services we provide – from our education partnership in schools with SlowFood Denver, Learning Landscapes and Denver Public Schools; to our service-learning garden construction with GroundWork Denver’s Youth Green Team and long-time partner Mile High Youth Corps.

We’re thrilled again in 2010 to be working closely with Parks Departments from Denver, Aurora, Englewood and Westminster; as well as with Denver and Lakewood Housing Authorities. At DeLaney Community Farm, we anticipate another great season working with Tri-County Health Department’s WIC program and Community Partner Shareholders from Project Angle Heart, The Colorado Aids Project and the Gathering Place. And then there are the countless partnerships we share at each garden site with organizations such as Atlantis Communities, Developmental Pathways, Mercy Housing, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, Butterfly Hope, Bridges of Silence, Dandelion Project, and Bridge Project to name just a few.

In 2010, there is no shortage of new garden projects including: our first garden in the City of Englewood, a garden connecting Regis University students with Berkeley neighborhood residents, a garden as part of Denver Park’s renovation of Ruby Hill Park, a garden in the Jefferson Park neighborhood on the grounds of DPS’s CEC Middle College of Denver, and the new Ekar Garden in Lowry adjacent to the Denver Academy of Torah.

In addition to new gardens, DUG is helping lead efforts to renovate and expand existing gardens at Steck and Brown elementary schools and at Place Bridge Academy, as well as at Denver Housing Authorities’ Mulroy and Quigg Newton developments. DUG is also working to expand the E. 13^th Avenue Garden as part of the new Westerly Creek Park Project, in partnership with the Trust for Public Land and the Denver Parks and Recreation.

As busy as we are, we do plan to take the time to celebrate our 25^th Anniversary and the milestone of our 100th community garden. A very dedicated committee of volunteers has been hard at work planning our exciting Nourish & Flourish events to be held on May 20^th and September 25^th of this year. In the most recent edition of The Underground News, Dr. Jill Litt begins a series of articles summarizing the findings from the Colorado School of Public Health’s 4-year research study exploring the health benefits of community gardens. A documentary on this important work will be a central element at the Nourish & Flourish events, and will be made available on our website in June.

Here’s to the amazing network of gardens we support and to a very memorable year at DUG!

Michael