Community garden takes root at Travis

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Michael West
  • 6th Air Refueling Squadron
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Have you had a fresh vegetable garden? No? Here is your chance.

A community garden, located east of the Twin Peaks Chapel and adjacent to the dog park here, started roughly two years ago and has slowly gained momentum.

After two years of planning and logistics, the idea for the project has become a well-accomplished product. I sought Balfour Beatty to see if it had any experts to help me with this project.

The current advisor, Mark Dupree, was on staff that day. He helped make the land available to the base community. With Dupree's expertise, he also assisted in planning the location and setting up the beds.

The largest contribution has been from Balfour Beatty. We greatly value its staff's willingness to help the garden succeed. The largest needs were materials. Through the recycling of materials from housing renovations, almost all of the supplies to build the beds, the fencing and all of the ground fillings were donated to the community garden without paying a penny. That is a community within itself right there. Thank you, Balfour Beatty.

Many on-base agencies have reached out a helping hand as well. Those would include the officer and enlisted spouses clubs, Outdoor Recreation, Balfour Beatty, 6th Air Refueling Squadron, Travis Airman Leadership School class and other off base businesses. The concrete slab the sheds sit on was donated by one of the local businesses. The base Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops volunteered many labor intensive hours and the project has succeeded at bringing families together.

The garden has a leadership council. The president is Sonja Hunt, I am the vice president. The treasurer is Brittany Crank. The secretary is Senior Master Sgt. John Kirby, 60th Operations Support Squadron. These four have been part of the garden from the beginning.

All garden plot inquiries are being accepted at this time via email at communitygardentafb@gmail.com. The events and volunteers dates are posted on Facebook at the Community Garden at TAFB and can be added as a page without any privacy issues.

For more information, contact the Community Center at 207-3376.