Eat Smart Black Mountain

EAT SMART BLACK MOUNTAIN

Eat Smart Black Mountain, a program of Black Mountain Recreation and Parks, works to promote healthy eating and active living through hands-on gardening and nutrition programs.

The long-term goal of Eat Smart Black Mountain's Garden Team is that every person in Black Mountain can walk or wheel to their own garden space.

Current gardens include:

Dr. John Wilson Community Garden

Carver Community Garden

Black Mountain Primary School Gardens

Black Mountain Elementary School Gardens

Gardens seek to Grow ~ Educate ~ Share by providing garden plots to rent (with dollars or "sweat equity"), growing food to share with local families, and teaching through hands-on methods like workshops, volunteering, and one-on-one sessions.

Use the links below to explore our programs in more detail.

Community Gardens
School Gardens
Recipes

Interested in volunteering?

Volunteers play an important role in Eat Smart's work, helping to maximize the productivity of the gardens so that fresh produce may be available for tastings, cooking demonstrations and donation within our community. We can work with individuals or groups of up to 25. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Brittany Williams: brittany.williams@townofblackmountain.org.

Check out these volunteer work days at our different garden locations:

Dr. John Wilson Community Garden (99 White Pine Drive, Black Mountain, NC)

Tuesdays @ 9:00 a.m. (Harvesters)
Every day on your on time once you're trained

Black Mountain Elementary School Gardens (100 Flat Creek Road, Black Mountain, NC)

Weekly on Thursdays @ 2:45 (Garden Club Helpers)
Recess Helpers - on your own time (must be approved as school volunteer, first)
In-Class Helpers - during school hours on your own time (must be approved as school volunteer, first)
On Your Own (Volunteer tasks located in mailbox in garden)

Contact Brittany Williams at 828-669-8610 for more info!

Eat Smart Black Mountain is proud to partner with local organizations like the Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry, and Bounty & Soul. We are also proud to partner with local businesses and organizations, who keep us supported and sponsored (businesses like Sow True Seed, Mellie Mac's Garden Shack, Ol' Turtle Farms, Roots & Fruits Market, and many more). Together we help Black Mountain Eat Smart!

COMMUNITY GARDEN

Interested in becoming a Community Garden Assistant? Check out this internship description (or fill this role as a dedicated volunteer). CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

We now have three Community Gardens you can get involved with - the Dr. John Wilson Community Garden (behind the Grey Eagle Soccer Arena), the Carver Community Garden, and the Tomahawk Community Garden. Each has its own culture and works a little differently.

Here are the basics:

Dr. John Wilson Community Garden (99 White Pine Drive): This garden has substantial infrastructure, including gardening tools, running water, free manure & mulch, and other gardening supplies. The garden is a short downhill walk from the parking area (but there is a greenway trail that encircles it, with a disc golf course, indoor soccer arena, softball fields, and trail system nearby). There are 62 rental plots (full size is 50'x6', half size is 25'x6'), returning gardeners get first opportunity to have a plot. Rental fee is $35/full plot, $20/half plot - for March - October growing season. Gardeners can pay an extra bit to winter garden. Gardeners set aside the first 5 feet of a plot to grow food for donation (seeds, starts, and instructions provided). This garden also has several hundred feet of donation-only beds tended by volunteers. Over 3,000 pounds of produce donated annually from this garden (mostly to Bounty & Soul). Volunteers help out on weekly volunteer days, and groups of up to 20 can schedule a day (or days) to volunteer. Currently has a waiting list, and people on the list are being assigned to plots right now.

Carver Community Garden (101 Carver Ave): This fledgling garden is getting a makeover! We've turned the garden into all elevated beds so people with limited mobility can enjoy gardening. At this garden, you can walk, bike, or drive up and park right next to it. Each bed is $20 for the regular season, and financial assistance and payment plans are available. This garden is further enhanced with a nearby brand-new playground, and it sits next to a small skate park, and near a sand volleyball court and the Carver Community Center.

Tomahawk Community Garden (401 Laurel Circle): This is our oldest and most private garden. It's the original site for the garden Dr. Wilson started (and he still gardens there at 99 years old!). Spots in this garden are shared with neighbors, and rarely open up as these gardeners have been here for years.

Here's a link to a google map of all three gardens. Have suggestions of other community gardens not managed by our office? Let us know and we'll add them with contact information!

Interested in starting a community garden in your neighborhood, your church yard, or communal living space? Give us a call - we can help you get started!

Grow - Educate - Share

Check out the Grow the Garden program. You can sponsor a tree, shrub, or native plant species at the Dr. John Wilson Community Garden; or you can make a general donation that will support the care and education around these plants. Click here to check out the brochure.

For More Information

Diana McCall, Garden Supervisor
diana.mccall@townofblackmountain.org
828-337-8932

Brittany Williams, Recreation Program Supervisor
brittany.williams@townofblackmountain.org
828-669-8610

SCHOOL GARDEN

School Gardens

School Garden Volunteers

Black Mountain Elementary

After-School Garden Club: All 4th/5th Grade Students welcome to join, and volunteers are needed!

Recess Time: All kids are welcome to help out or learn more about what is happening in the garden. Volunteers hang out in the garden and help students get their hands dirty.

In Class Help: Volunteers help connect classes to the garden. Everything can connect to the garden - from poetry to math to composition.

If you would like to volunteer with the after-school or recess gardening times, help with in-class teaching, or just want to sign up to know about special volunteer events, be in touch!

Get involved! Contact Brittany Williams at brittany.williams@townofblackmountain.org

Eat Smart Black Mountain