St. Louis County Library District Starts Community Garden at Prairie Commons in Hazelwood

Upon entering the Prairie Commons Branch of the St. Louis County Library System's parking lot, you'll notice the landscape looks a tad different.

That's because the public library now has a community garden. The St. Louis County Library District (SLCLD) launched the pilot program to put community gardens outside some of its branches on Saturday with the Hazelwood location.

Tim Davidson, Hazelwood communications coordinator, said Wednesday that volunteers would be assembling 20 raised beds at the Hazelwood public library. The Hazelwood location will serve as test plot for future efforts.

Michelle Diane Arens said she enjoyed the day on Gateway Greening's Facebook page.

"It was fun and a great workout," she said. "(It was) nice to see so many people come out to help."

The garden is the first of two that will be installed and maintained in partnership with Gateway Greening. The second garden will be planted at the Cliff Cave Branch in south St. Louis County. Gateway Greening is a non-profit that supports more than 200 community gardens in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area, as well as City Seeds Urban Farm.  

“Partnering with the St. Louis County Library allows us to provide educational gardening programs and promote urban agriculture as a tool for community development," said Mike Sorth, executive director of Gateway Greening. "By expanding our programs to the entire county, we can continue educating and empowering our neighbors to strengthen their communities through gardening and urban agriculture."

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An individual gardener can maintain each of the beds. They will pay an annual $25 fee to a volunteer group that manages the garden. The money will go to maintain the garden. Library staff will also maintain one of the beds and donate all the produce to local food banks. 

The St. Louis Audubon Society is installing a 500-square foot butterfly garden, as well. The Missouri Foundation for Health will support the project via a grant.

"We hope to demonstrate the value of urban agriculture and gardening to the communities we serve," SLCL Director Charles Pace said. "We are excited about the potential of our new community garden and look forward to the future success of this initiative."