October 2024 Newsletter
The Garden
Welcome to The Neighborhood Garden Project!
We are a non-profit donation and community garden based in Katy, TX, dedicated to bringing people together to learn how to grow their own food while cultivating meaningful relationships within our community. Our mission is to provide families with the opportunity to overcome common suburban obstacles, such as lack of space and sufficient sunlight, to grow their own food.
Our Vision: We plan to utilize empty lots throughout the city, offering members their own 4’x12’ raised beds to grow various veggies and herbs. Our garden manager will be on-site to assist and educate members, maintain produce plots for donation to local organizations, and coordinate events and classes for the community. This ensures our garden grows smoothly and sustainably.
Expanding Across Texas and Beyond: TNGP is evolving into a multi-site community and donation garden, enriching lives by bringing gardens to neighborhoods all over Texas. We are dedicated to creating sustainable sanctuaries where community members of all ages can learn and experience the benefits of gardening.
Our Mission: We aim to provide a space where individuals can learn to grow and thrive through education and community outreach. Gardening offers numerous benefits, including improved physical, mental, and spiritual health, self-sufficiency, and a healthier lifestyle. TNGP is the perfect setting to achieve these goals.
Join us in our journey to cultivate a greener, healthier community!
Meet the Founder
In 2002, at the age of 15, Josh embarked on a journey to build his first garden in the backyard of his east Dallas home. This endeavor sparked a passion that would shape the trajectory of his life. Fast forward over 20 years, and Josh's commitment to gardening and farming has transcended mere agricultural pursuits, evolving into a profound source of life lessons and personal growth.
Recognizing the transformative power of his experiences, Josh established The Neighborhood Garden Project in 2022 with a heartfelt desire to give back to the community and share the invaluable wisdom gathered from his years tending the land. This project is a community endeavor, aspiring to see this initiative grow across Texas and beyond, fostering vibrant pockets of life and resources throughout the state and the nation.
As the demand for practical knowledge and hands-on experiences in gardening continues to grow, TNGP is committed to serving as a hub that serves families and individuals from all walks of life, offering education and support to empower local communities sustainably and meaningfully.
Meet a Family of TNGP
Hi, we’re the Casterline/Middleton family! We started gardening with The Neighborhood Garden Project in September of 2023. Tiffany saw a recommendation for the project on a Facebook group and was immediately interested. After meeting with Josh, Tiffany, her sons Tank, Jet, and her mom Melinda started their garden. Tiffany grew up with her grandparents and mom gardening every summer. Seeing the process and having fresh veggies was a great memory from her childhood. Tiffany wanted her boys to have that memory as well. The garden is where Tiffany can bring her boys to learn, play, and be in nature. Melinda loves fresh vegetables and loves to be out in nature as much as possible. Melinda enjoys learning about vegetables she never had growing up, like okra. They all are thankful for TNGP and what it brings to their lives.
Community Gardens
C.J. Eisenbarth Harger, assistant vice president of the Episcopal Health Foundation, stated that community gardens, at their best, symbolize hope, resilience, and sometimes resistance. But when a garden falls fallow, it becomes a painful reminder of a dream that withered. While coaxing a garden to produce a crop can be trying, it is often the "community" aspect that poses the greatest challenge—and reward.
Recently, Ann Barnes, MD, MPH, Eric Moen, and I visited a community garden with a solution: The Neighborhood Garden Project. Driven by faith, Josh Singleton launched this initiative to harness the untapped assets of many churches across the Episcopal Dioceses of Texas—unused land and people eager to engage in meaningful community-building. Their flagship location is at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Katy. They have extended their work to include Hutsell Elementary School’s elementary garden across the street.
Read more here https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/putting-community-back-gardens-c-j-eisenbarth-hager-syb6c
