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ICT Farms reports volunteers, harvests and vandalism cleanup at Bridgeport Park urban farm
Summary
ICT Farms founder updated the board on a volunteer-run urban farm at Bridgeport Park, describing Milpa planting, volunteer turnout, plans for cultural garden beds, and recurring illegal dumping costs the nonprofit covered.
Thomas Monteal, founder and board president of ICT Farms, updated the Wichita Park Board on the group’s Bridgeport Park urban farm project and volunteer program.
“We’re building a farm... at Bridgeport, which is former soccer fields,” Thomas said, describing the site as compact and previously unused. The group used a Milpa-style planting party to build soil life and drew volunteers: Thomas said roughly 68 people attended an early planning event. Volunteers later planted black raspberries and potatoes; the group said it put in about 300 pounds of seed potatoes and expects a multi-thousand‑pound harvest range depending on soil conditions.
Thomas also described recurring illegal dumping at the site and said the nonprofit spent roughly $1,800 last year on dumpsters and cleanup. He said neighbors and corporate volunteers have helped: “We had a group from State Farm that came out and helped clean up,” he said. The group has added composting and green-manure cover crops to build soil organic matter and plans programming for youth and community groups.
ICT Farms noted operational changes since fencing and barriers were installed to block vehicle access; the group will post regular open days and train a core set of roughly 20 volunteer leaders to steward the site. Program highlights include community harvest days, a July schedule of a pumpkin patch and sunflower planting, and plans for culturally themed garden beds representing Southern U.S., Latin American, African and Indigenous foodways. Thomas said the farm will attempt to grow some 30 species of squash to spread risk and food diversity.
Board members asked how a locked gate would affect informal foraging; Thomas said the farm will post volunteer days and lead volunteers will be present on scheduled days. Staff noted parking and safety issues near the site and cautioned against on-street parking on Ohio because of traffic risk.
No board action was required. ICT Farms requested continued coordination with Parks staff on site access, signage, and waste removal.
