The North Shoal Creek Community Garden is the culmination of efforts that began in the spring of 2016 by members of the North Shoal Creek Neighborhood Association. In June, the association approached Principal Brian Hill of Pillow Elementary with the idea of putting in a community garden at the school. Always one to see the value in connecting the school with the community, he was immediately on board.
Over the summer and early fall, a dedicated group formed to work on the initial planning stages of the garden, obtain approval from various entities with an interest in the school’s land, and secure funding. That group bundled the garden, along with various other beautification projects, into one application to the City of Austin’s Neighborhood Partnering Program, which allows the city to pair up with neighborhoods to accomplish medium-sized projects. To ensure specific funding for the garden, the group applied for a grant from Austin Parks Foundation.
In November 2016, Austin Parks Foundation approved a grant of up to $10,000 for construction of the garden, and in February 2017 the North Shoal Creek Community Garden Committee was formed to carry out the logistics and construction involved with building the garden. Shortly thereafter, the Neighborhood Partnering Program called to inform us that they have approved our application in its entirety. This will allow the City to assist in the more challenging components of building a garden, such as ensuring water tap access and proper installation of a fence to border the garden.
Our community garden at the northwest corner of the Pillow Elementary grounds has 22 plots, 19 of them available for rent to anyone who resides in North Shoal Creek. The other three will be maintained by the community garden committee with the intent of donating the harvest to Pillow Elementary students. The community garden’s bylaws and gardener’s agreements can be found on our website, as well as a schedule of events and upcoming workdays and committee meetings.
For more details about our community garden and our neighborhood partnering program application, visit: Sep 6 NPP Presentation.
