Volunteers expand Woodfin Community Garden after Helene, with county grant and school partnerships

Volunteers behind the Woodfin Community Garden told the Woodfin Town Council on Oct. 21 that the project has rapidly grown since planting began in spring 2025, despite delays caused by Hurricane Helene.

Steering‑committee members Lily Dancy Jones and Katie Cox said the garden — proposed to council in March 2024 and formally agreed in July 2024 — constructed and planted 12–16 raised beds this year, organized 35 volunteer work days, hosted an Oct. 4 open house with 30 attendees and recorded about 340 volunteer hours. The garden received a $5,000 Buncombe County tipping‑point grant and $1,650 in local donations, and the town provided a water line, trash pickup and a portable toilet at the site.

Jones and Cox described partnerships that supported plant donations and planting days: Asheville GreenWorks, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, French Broad River Academy and a Warren Wilson College class. They also credited town public works staff for trenching and drainage work near the shed and noted plans to add native pollinator plantings along Lookout Road with school groups and partners.

The steering committee said it is surveying interest in a rental‑plot model and has found seven to eight prospective renters so far; they emphasized a sliding‑scale rental concept to keep plots affordable. The garden also plans improvements — raising beds, building a kiosk for visitor information and adding sustainable runoff management with RiverLink guidance. The group said it wants to apply for additional grants next year, including another tipping‑point award and county parks grants.

Next steps: the committee will continue volunteer days, pursue grant funding, pilot a rental model if needed and coordinate planting events with school partners this November and December.