The Browning Community Garden and its partner organizations Blackfeet Manpower VISTA and Blackfeet Academy have been working together for the past 4 years to develop and sustain a community garden for those in the Browning area.
Since this community garden project began four years ago, several different classes ranging from second graders to high school students have participated in various stages of the project. Along with the help of Global Volunteers and the Montana Conservation Corps a compost pile was started and the garden tended to produce several bountiful harvests. Each harvest has been donated to the local food bank whose workers were delighted by the contributions.
The Browning Community Garden is part of a community park. The surrounding area has been converted into a more open public place in hopes of increasing the utilization of the garden and creating a more enriching space for the community. Half of the community garden is rented out to community members who want to do their own gardening. The other half is communal. It is used for school and community educational programs, special events and a summer day camp for late elementary and middle school students lead by an Energy Corps member. Every year portions of the garden’s harvest have been donated to the food bank with the remaining veggies going tot he students that help tend the garden. Raised beds have been included in the garden with the hopes of encouraging elderly community members to join in the fun of gardening and not be limited by accessibility challenges.
The goals of the Browning Community Garden include harvesting 20 plots with the aid of 7-10 students who complete a summer camp focused on building a better future for the garden and themselves. Another goal of the garden is to foster a community gathering atmosphere where students from different generations can come and share their stories and experiences about growing up in Browning. The third goal of the community garden is to encourage interaction and foster relationships between community members of all ages. By involving the elderly community members they hope to build upon a tradition that is being lost; giving elders a chance to share their stores of traditional life and the history of the community and the tribe.
Contact: Elva Dorsey ecodev@browningcdc.org