Historical preservation and revisionism, but with a worthy Community Garden attached.

The group seeking to start a community garden has been hard at work. As a prelude to the following, contributed by Michele Finn, it's helpful to know that the group's target site is adjacent to the former tavern building under renovation at 8th and Culbertson, as corroborated in this Daniel Suddeath newspaper piece.

New Albany’s first community garden space is in the works, as Indiana Landmarks recently donated the lot at 707 Culbertson Ave. for the project.

In addition to plots that can be rented by residents wishing to produce their own yield, the property will also house the former Emery’s Ice Cream Shop building, which will serve as an education center ...

... Greg Sekula, director of Indiana Landmarks Southern Regional office, said he’s hopeful the Emery’s building will be moved to the lot by the end of the month. The New Albany Board of Public Works and Safety has already approved the move of the building from its current location near the intersection of 13th and Main streets.

“We’re glad this seems to be a win-win for everybody,” Sekula said.

Here's the text of Michele's mailing.

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Hi Everyone,

Things have been coming together very quickly and we have a garden site! I can not confirm the location just yet, there are still a few little things we are working on.

One of the things we are needing at the moment is a name. There are a few ideas mentioned already and I would love to hear a few more. Please keep in mind that one of the purposes of the garden is to unite the community.

So far we have:

United Roots Community Gardens
Fusion Roots Community Gardens
Kaleidoscope's Community Gardens
Sycamore Center Community Gardens
Tutti Community Gardens (meaning all together in italian)

Some items we will be needing soon are:

Large amounts of top soil and compost (we are working on finding the exact amount)
Cedar for the raised beds and part of the fencing.
Compost bins~we will eventually build our own
Several rain barrels (we have one donated already)
Hog Wire Fencing (I will post an example)

If you have any connections for supplies or ideas for fund raising please share and we will do the best we can with what we have.

A couple of things we've been working on are:
Lease agreement
Possible education center
Non profit status
Considering maintenance and up keep once established

Faith Ingle and Smith have agreed to write up our lease and handle our non profit status application at no charge! We will be responsible for the minimal fees for applying but again no charge from the company! I met with them today and it's in the works. A big Thank You to them for supporting our garden!

http://www.faithinglesmith.com/

Chris from Rauch Inc is investigating our bumpy plot to see how much dirt we will need to grade it so that we can put in nice level plots! We are also considering hiring Rauch Inc, who's mission is "To support people with disabilities and their families while encouraging a community that acknowledges the value and contribution of all people" to help with upkeep and maintenance throughout the year. It would be an honor to hire a non profit from within our community!

http://www.rauchinc.org/landscaping_lawn_care.htm

We will hold another meeting once we get the paperwork filled out. It's really happening! We should be able to build the garden (fence and beds) through April and have a garden the first of May! We will need to have a "Build It" party and get the fences and raised beds put together. This will be a "tend your own plot" garden with a communal area that will be donated to a non profit organization. The fee for renting a plot will be decided depending on insurance costs, supply costs, and how successful our fundraising is!

Thank you all for your support and interest!
Please write back with any ideas or questions.

Thanks!
Michele Finn