Bottom row: Patti Pennington (Cawaco RC&D), Linda Grissom, Roberta Lowe, Leria Jordan (Guiding Light Church)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Guiding Light Church located in Irondale recently announced a $2665 grant from the Cawaco Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council and provided details on the new features added to the Guiding Light Church and Liberty Highlands Community Garden.
Guiding Light Church applied for the grant to install a retainer wall to prevent soil erosion and purchase seeds and bulbs to plant in the garden.
Members of the community garden have planted strawberries, blueberries and apple trees, as well as several vegetable plants.
Garden manager Adlai Trone said the goal of the garden is to promote healthy living and provide an activity for senior citizens of the church and community.
“When you look at the diseases that affect all of us, you begin to see that the key to preventing these diseases is having fresh vegetables,” Trone said.
Residents from around the community have benefitted from the Guiding Light Church and Liberty Highlands Garden. Leria Jordan, the community and public relations administrator at Guiding Light Church, said they see the garden as an opportunity to minister to the community.
“Having this garden has helped us to reach out to the neighborhood and get to know our neighbors through sharing our vegetables,” Jordan said.
The garden is maintained by garden members, who are given a plot in the garden to plant fruits and vegetables. Most members are senior citizens. The garden has provided them with physical activity to promote a healthy lifestyle and the opportunity to give back to the community.
State Rep. Dickie Drake attended the event and applauded the church’s efforts to promote healthy living.
“Projects such as the Liberty Highlands Community Garden provide so many benefits for the area. It allows generations to come together and learn about urban farming, provide food and fiber for there neighbors, and get people active and productive. I am proud to have played a small role and partner with Cawaco RC&D and Guiding Light Church,” Drake said.
The RC&D program was established in the Agriculture Act of 1962 to provide a program that empowers rural people to help themselves. RC&D areas include adjacent counties that have substantial natural resources to use for economic improvement and community betterment.
RC&D Councils are made up of citizens in an RC&D area who want a better life for themselves, their children, and future generations. RC&D Council representatives and alternates are volunteers who assist RC&D. There are nine RC&D councils throughout the state.
RC&D Councils in Alabama are nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations within the state that are designated 501(c)(3) entities by the Internal Revenue Service.
For more information please visit us at www.cawaco.org or http://www.facebook.com/Cawaco.RCD.
