Southwest grad hopes to start community garden
June 24,2015
Charlea Mills
Cristian Sellars, a 2012 Southwest High School graduate, is working on a plan to help feed the community he grew up in through a community garden project.
Community gardens are volunteer-run gardens with fast-growing crops that are given away to people in need in the community. Sellars said, “With a community garden, low-income families that would normally struggle to get fresh produce on the table can now have it. The idea is to have a locally-sponsored community garden that would work off volunteers and donations by individuals and businesses.”
Sellars proposed the project to the Seligman City Council at their June meeting, but will also be checking with other places to see where the project would be the best fit. Sellars, who attends college in St. Louis, got the idea after seeing large-scale gardens near his school. He said, “I’ve decided to try to start this for two reasons. One is that our area isn’t known for wealth. It’s a poverty-stricken area, and fresh produce is really expensive. Also, people want to give back to the community, but don’t necessarily know what to do. This is a way to bring people together, help others and support the community.”
When Sellars proposed the idea to the Seligman City Council, the council members were a bit apprehensive of the idea, concerned with vandalism and management of the project since Sellars will be attending school again in the fall. Sellars had hoped that the city would allow the raised bed garden to be established by City Hall for good visibility and ease of location for people needing help.
When asked who would manage the garden while he was at school, Sellars said, “I’d really like to get a group to work the project. We need someone to administrate over the schedule, but since the council said no, I’m exploring other options.”
He went on, “It’ll be a group-run project and I’m putting my trust in other people to help out. I’m planning to call the Cassville Council, too. It’s just about finding a town or other area that is supportive of it.”
Sellars said he’ll keep pursuing this dream until it becomes a reality. He said, “If someone’s in need, it should be available.”
If you’re interested in aiding Sellars in his community garden project, you can contact him at (417) 342-6409 or [email protected]. Sellars is also in the process of designing a website with basic information about the community garden he wants to design and how people can get produce once it becomes available.
Charlea Mills
Cristian Sellars, a 2012 Southwest High School graduate, is working on a plan to help feed the community he grew up in through a community garden project.
Community gardens are volunteer-run gardens with fast-growing crops that are given away to people in need in the community. Sellars said, “With a community garden, low-income families that would normally struggle to get fresh produce on the table can now have it. The idea is to have a locally-sponsored community garden that would work off volunteers and donations by individuals and businesses.”
Sellars proposed the project to the Seligman City Council at their June meeting, but will also be checking with other places to see where the project would be the best fit. Sellars, who attends college in St. Louis, got the idea after seeing large-scale gardens near his school. He said, “I’ve decided to try to start this for two reasons. One is that our area isn’t known for wealth. It’s a poverty-stricken area, and fresh produce is really expensive. Also, people want to give back to the community, but don’t necessarily know what to do. This is a way to bring people together, help others and support the community.”
When Sellars proposed the idea to the Seligman City Council, the council members were a bit apprehensive of the idea, concerned with vandalism and management of the project since Sellars will be attending school again in the fall. Sellars had hoped that the city would allow the raised bed garden to be established by City Hall for good visibility and ease of location for people needing help.
When asked who would manage the garden while he was at school, Sellars said, “I’d really like to get a group to work the project. We need someone to administrate over the schedule, but since the council said no, I’m exploring other options.”
He went on, “It’ll be a group-run project and I’m putting my trust in other people to help out. I’m planning to call the Cassville Council, too. It’s just about finding a town or other area that is supportive of it.”
Sellars said he’ll keep pursuing this dream until it becomes a reality. He said, “If someone’s in need, it should be available.”
If you’re interested in aiding Sellars in his community garden project, you can contact him at (417) 342-6409 or [email protected]. Sellars is also in the process of designing a website with basic information about the community garden he wants to design and how people can get produce once it becomes available.