Planting Food and Pride

Community Gardens of Chester County teamed up with volunteers from XL Insurance  to create some beautiful edible and perennial gardens for three families who are new owners of Habitat for Humanity homes in West Chester.  For several years, XL Insurance has come out with us on their annual Global Day of Giving to give back to the community, and we were so glad to have their help on this project!  It was a tough day of digging up some hard and rocky soil and moving wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of topsoil and mulch, but the results made it all worthwhile!

Habitat for Humanity and CGCC have many things in common, including the goal of working to break the cycle of poverty by providing a hand up to low-income families who are taking steps to improve their lives, and in our efforts to build stronger communities while helping to meet basic needs.  We've been happy to work with them on many projects over the years, and it's always very inspiring to see how a little greenery can make a house feel even more like a home and foster pride in a neighborhood!  We interspersed blueberry, currant, and raspberry bushes, fruit trees, vegetables, and herbs among some perennial shrubs and flowers to create what we hope will be rewarding landscapes for years to come!

Thanks again to our wonderfully generous and hardworking volunteers from XL Insurance for being a part of this project!  We couldn't have done it without you!

Celebrating History in Kennett

This past Saturday, November 13th, CGCC helped the Kennett Square community dedicate a new mural, commemorating the history of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, located at 120 S. Willow Street.  Daryl Hall, owner of the building and member of the board of the Kennett Underground Railroad Center, commissioned the painting because he knew it would be a great opportunity to educate and inspire the neighborhood kids, and to remind everyone about Kennett's role in the history of the abolition movement.  CGCC got involved when Joan Holliday, founder of Bridging the Community, shared with us Daryl's vision of the mural as a place where folks would be welcome to stop by and sit a while to enjoy the colorful artwork and reflect on our heritage while the image of Harriet Tubman holds up her lantern to light the way to a brighter future.

To soften up the space and create an environment where plants could grow happily, we first had to design and build a raised planter that would accommodate the rugged and sloping terrain.  Once that was completed, our acting Board Chair and landscape designer, Nancy Bartley, chose some hardy and long blooming perennials in vibrant colors to compliment the strong hues of the painting.  Steve Castorani of Gateway Garden Center in Hockessin, Delaware, heroically came through for us in our quest to find what we were looking for so late in the season, and donated a pink Double Knock Out rose, a Graciosa Hinoki False Cypress, some Stella D'oro daylilies, some Pixie Meadowbrite Echinacea, and some Daffodil bulbs.

The day of the dedication ceremony was warm and sunny, and there was a really strong turnout.  Daryl, Joan, KURC Director Mary Dugan, and Kennett Square Mayor Matthew Fetick all spoke to the wonderful message the mural sends out, and how great it was to see such a cross-section of the community coming out to celebrate together.

Afterwards, we showed the children how to plant the flowers and they helped us get them all in.  As Joan put it, it was neat to give them the chance to "put in roots" at such an inspirational site, to help them feel a sense of ownership.  We were glad to have been a part of this great project!

Welcome!

Welcome to CGCC's new blog!  My hope is to create a space where we can share with you all of the work we're doing, while encouraging you to tell us what you think and ask questions!  We're a small nonprofit, but we accomplish big things because we have the support of a great network of people throughout Chester County (and beyond)!  I hope that this will be a place where we can all get to know each other better!


To that end, let me first introduce myself.  My name is Amanda Galloway, and I'm CGCC's new Director.  

I've lived in Chester County all my life, except for my years in Baltimore studying at Goucher College.  There I developed an individualized interdisciplinary major in Community Development, focusing on Nonprofit Administration.  Everyone encouraged me to move to the city after graduation, because of course, that's where all the nonprofits are.  But I chose to go into my field because I saw that there was need in the rural and suburban areas of our county as well, so home I came and I put in my time in both the corporate and government sectors until the right opportunity came along.  In the meantime, my husband and I became strongly interested in gardening and growing lots of food sustainably and on a small scale.  I spent a lot of time learning about the urban gardening movement, experimenting with methods of intensive growing and with different vegetable varieties, and learning about our local foodshed.  When I found out about the position at Community Gardens of Chester County, I knew I had found the perfect place to bring together my education and my passions!  And now here I am, and I am so excited to be working to bring fresh food and gardening to those in our community who need it most!  


I'm looking forward to meeting all of you who have supported our mission for years, and those of you who are just getting to know us!  We have so much good work to do, and I hope you'll be a part of it!