Community Partnership launches City Hall community gardens; city staff helped install 35 galvanized beds

Jody Mijares, chief executive officer of Community Partnership Family Resource Center, updated Woodland Park City Council on June 5 about the nonprofit’s community garden program, which has relocated to City Hall.

Mijares said Community Partnership has operated a garden program since 2012 and moved the beds to the City Hall site to increase visibility and public access. Staff and volunteers assembled 35 galvanized raised beds with mesh bottoms; each bed was layered with cardboard and soil and is being amended with llama manure and mushroom compost. The organization also assembled a greenhouse and plans to build hoop houses to extend the growing season.

"It provides a more visible and accessible location to the community," Mijares said, noting the program will provide weekly “work and learn” days led by the group's master gardener to teach high‑altitude gardening techniques. The program also reserved beds for the nonprofit’s food pantry and early‑childhood playgroup, and will include themed demonstration beds such as a pizza garden, salsa garden, pollinator perimeter beds and accessible beds for persons with disabilities.

Mijares told council the group donated four raised beds to the Community Cupboard when the gardens moved from Divide and thanked city staff — specifically naming the parks and facilities crews and Cindy and Rob — for assistance unloading soil and preparing the site.

Council members thanked Mijares and staff for the partnership and noted the fence and other site finishing work are forthcoming. Mijares identified two funders supporting the project: the Colorado Springs Health Foundation and the Colorado Garden Foundation. Community Partnership said it expects to begin planting roughly two weeks after the meeting, pending the last hard frost.

Why it matters

Community gardens can increase local food access, provide educational programming on gardening in high altitude environments, and create public‑facing amenity space downtown. Council members who spoke said they were pleased with the project’s early progress and the visible improvements at City Hall.

Next steps

Community Partnership will run regular work‑and‑learn sessions (Tuesdays and Thursdays at minimum), continue site work (fence and finishing), and offer a shared harvest for participants and local food pantries. Council staff said they will coordinate remaining site work through the parks and facilities divisions.

Sources: Presentation by Jody Mijares, Community Partnership Family Resource Center; Woodland Park City Council meeting transcript, June 5, 2025.