Amend Park Community Garden welcomes both seasoned gardeners and those who are brand new to gardening. This garden is located in the northeast corner of Amend Park, along S. Billings Blvd. We currently have 44 individual plots, 8 communal plots, and 16 communal fruit trees at the garden.
According to Yellowstone County,
- 10.2% of the population in Billings has been identified as experiencing poverty.
- In the South Side Neighborhood, around 47% of the population is living below the federal poverty line.
- According to the 2020 Community Health Assessment of Yellowstone County, conducted by the Healthcare Alliance of Billings Clinic, Riverstone Health, and St. Vincent Healthcare, 22.7% of Yellowstone County residents have low food access, meaning they do not live near a supermarket or grocery store.
- 18.1% of community residents are determined to be “food insecure”, having run out of food in the past year and/or been worried about running out of food.
Background
Amend Park Community Garden is the first community garden in the Southwest Corridor neighborhood of Billings, Montana to be completely open to the public. It was founded in 2014 through a collaboration between the Billings Parks and Recreation Department and the Billings Metro VISTA Project. It is Billings’ first city-owned community garden. The garden’s overall mission is to increase food security by providing a public space to garden in, thereby:
- Reaching low-income citizens.
- Creating a strong sense of community.
- Providing educational opportunities.
- Providing opportunities to foster community leadership.
- Producing an abundance of fruits and vegetables.
Amend Community Garden hopes to provide households in multiple neighborhoods of Billings with the space and resources necessary to plant, grow, and harvest their own food. This will increase overall food security as residents will have easy access to affordable, healthy food.
The plot sizes we have in the garden include 10′ X 10′ ground plots, 10′ X 20′ ground plots, 20′ X 20′ ground plots, and 3′ X 6″ raised beds.
Volunteer Opportunities
Even if you don’t have a plot at the garden, there are plenty of volunteer opportunities to seek out. We are always looking for help with weeding, mulching, and caring for communal plots in the garden. If you are more interested in the maintenance side of things, we are often looking for people willing to help with fence repairs. Additionally, if you have an area of expertise in gardening (i.e. pests, composting, microgreens, container gardens, etc..), you could host a workshop for our gardeners!
Volunteer opportunities are open to both individuals and groups. Please reach out to Jake Milliron if you are interested in volunteering at Amend Garden.