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AMERICAN FORK — A man is taking his passion for gardening and turning a vacant lot full of weeds into a community garden.
Travis Hysell is trying to clean up the lot at 700 W. 450 North one rock at a time.
"The neighborhood around us is going to benefit because they are not going to have the weeds and dust,” said Hysell, with the Legacy Initiative, a nonprofit group working to fight hunger, provide humanitarian aid and educate people through community partnerships.
“The city is going to benefit," he said. "This should save the taxpayers (money) in that the city is not going to be maintaining this, keeping down the weeds and the dust. They are not going to be fielding complaint calls.”
With the help of volunteers, Hysell plans to grow vegetables in garden boxes to give to the needy. He worked out a one-year lease with the city on a trial basis.
Hysell says this is not a typical community garden but a place for neighbors to gather and make new friends as they provide a service to the less fortunate.
"It's meant to unify the community," he said, "so it's not just a place to come and grow food, but a place to gather as a neighborhood. We want to come back to a time when neighbors know each other and they are here to help each other out. Part of this garden is to provide food for less fortunate people, and through the network of our community, that is how we will source out some of the people that we serve.”
Volunteers such as Aaron Bush are eager to help, believing they benefit too by giving their children a chance to work and learn. Bush's young daughter Kiara is always eager to help.
"She's been helping us build the boxes, dig the dirt, lifting rocks," Bush said, "so she has been a great help to us.”
A local nursery is providing the plants. Now the challenge is getting community members involved in installing more garden boxes and helping to nurture the crops. They already have tomatoes, pumpkins and beans.
"We are always looking for volunteers, especially as we try to get this off the ground. We want it to look really nice, really soon,” Hysell said.
The organization is planning a ribbon cutting for July 12. For more information on the concept and on how people can get involved and volunteer, visit www.legacy-initiative.com.
