Our Organic Garden Program offers Latinx and immigrant families the opportunity to grow their own organic vegetables, fruits, and medicinal plants in our six community gardens. All of our services and workshops are offered fully in Spanish, and anyone is welcome to join.
We make gardening more financially accessible by providing every garden member with access to communal tools, and supplies such as seeds, plant starts, and organic fertilizer. We also offer one-on-one garden support and other learning opportunities related to beekeeping, food preservation, composting, seed saving and more. Many of these workshops are led by program members in a peer-led learning style.
The gardens are spaces for preservation of cultural traditions around agriculture and food, build relationships, and strengthen community. Families maintain their own small plot of land and have complete autonomy over which crops they grow. The gardens offer participants the opportunity to preserve their cultural practices and recipes by growing traditional foods while also increasing the overall health and economic security of their households.
Community-building is central to our programming. Throughout the year we come together to care for the garden spaces with community work parties and garden maintenance days. We also hold many community celebrations such as our annual Fiesta de la Cosecha, baile folklórico in the gardens, and fresh apple cider pressing in the fall.
We care deeply about environmental stewardship and use organic practices in all of our community gardens. It is important to us that our actions protect the water, soil and biodiversity of the land we cultivate.
Community Garden Locations
Bethel Community Garden - partnership with Bethel School District
Churchill Community Garden - partnership with 4J School District
Gamebird Community Garden - partnership with Willamalane Parks and Recreation District
Poppen Community Garden - partnership with Wesley Methodist Church
Santa Clara Community Garden - partnership with St. Matthews Episcopal Church
Skinner City Farm - partnership with the City of Eugene
Educational Opportunities
An important component of our gardens are the many opportunities for learning. We provide educational opportunities in order to teach about organic practices and the unique agricultural climate of the Pacific Northwest.
Hands-on Workshops: Our organization utilizes a popular education model for workshops. We honor that garden program members bring generational knowledge around gardening and food related topics. For that reason, our workshops are led by, and for, garden program members.
“Siembra la cena” or Seed to Supper: This class is taught by our gardens staff team. The curriculum, developed by Oregon Food Bank and OSU Extension, teaches how to grow food from planting seeds all the way to harvesting and preserving the produce.
How can I sign up for a garden plot?
Our garden plots are very popular, and for that reason we currently have a wait list.
If you would like to be added to our wait list, please call our office at 541-687-6227.
There are also other community partners who offer similar services in English.
For agricultural resources and information, click here to see full list of services from OSU Extension Services.
For the City of Eugene’s Community Garden Program, click here to visit their webpage and learn more.
How Can I Get Involved?
Garden Tours: We host school groups and community members to tour our gardens and learn about the work we do.
Volunteer: We are always looking for committed volunteers or interns
Work Parties: Are you part of a group that wants to volunteer? We host school, business, and community groups for tours and work parties.
To attend a tour or find out more about volunteering, please email us at gardens@plazacomunidad.org
Learn More
Learning Opportunities in Gardening and Sustainable Farming: We offer workshops, trainings, farm tours, and more. Click here to read more details about our educational offerings.
Special Projects: The gardens are a perfect space for innovative projects like beekeeping, seed-saving, and more. Click here to learn about special projects we are cultivating.
Support for Farmers: We help Latinx and immigrant farmers access farm resources and mentorship opportunities in Spanish. Click here to learn more.
