Civic Garden Center pledges training and resources for Mary Wagner's Garden in Woodlawn

Woodlawn — A representative of the Civic Garden Center of Cincinnati told the Village of Woodlawn council the organization will support a new community garden named Mary Wagner's Garden with training, materials and ongoing collaboration.

Kamisha Montgomery, the Civic Garden Center’s urban agriculture program manager, told council the center manages and supports more than 60 community gardens and can provide free seeds, plants, education and partner organizations to help maintain the new Woodlawn site. "We will supply... free seeds, free plants, free education, and also, other collaborations that we have with other organizations... to make sure that it is and will be a thriving community garden," Montgomery said.

Montgomery described a centralized 11-week training based in Avondale and said the center can help with composting methods and low-maintenance bioreactor-style systems to avoid typical three-bin labor. Councilors and staff discussed using leaf and wood-chip material from public works to support composting and agreed to follow up on outreach and advertising so residents can participate in training.

Municipal manager Tim and councilors also noted county programs that may supply mulch or compost and urged staff to explore grant options and share training dates with the public. The council expressed support for the garden and its role in local food access.