ADRIAN — “Anyone can pitch in, and anyone can enjoy.”

That’s the philosophy behind the community garden that sits on a small grassy parcel of city land on George Street, along the banks of the River Raisin.

The garden was started in 2017 by Adrian resident Christie Boxer and her family, with help from the city parks department. Since then it’s been maintained not just by the Boxer family, but by the work of community volunteers.

It consists of six raised beds that are planted using the square-foot gardening method, where instead of rows the planting area is divided into squares, each of which can be planted with a different crop.

Volunteers are currently being sought for a community planting day, scheduled for Saturday, May 23, at 10 a.m. At the planting day, volunteers will prepare the beds and then plant four of the beds with various kinds of produce — focusing on things that are both popular and easy to grow, such as peppers, cherry tomatoes, onions, and carrots.

After the planting day, there is no set volunteer schedule. There are water barrels on-site so that anyone who comes by can water the plants if they seem to need it. 

At the same time, anyone who wants to is welcome to enjoy the produce from the garden.

The garden first came into being with the help of Todd Brown, who at the time was the city of Adrian’s acting parks and recreation director. He suggested the George Street park, noting that it was generally underutilized by residents. It was small and didn’t have the amenities of many city parks — but it did have plenty of sun and an area suitable for installing garden beds.

The first beds were made from cinderblocks, doors from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and other recycled materials. But last year, during their slow period, parks and recreation department employees under the leadership of Jeremiah Davies built new raised boxes and also installed new water barrels. The boxes were designed by parks department employee Braxton Garza. 

The parks department fills the barrels while making their regular rounds over the course of the season, but aside from that, all maintenance is done by volunteers.

Boxer noted that the raised beds make it easier for more people to access the garden. For example, a person using a wheelchair can get right up to one of the beds and weed it or pick vegetables without having to get down on the ground like with a traditional garden.

“We wanted this to be accessible to anybody,” she said.

Boxer, a sociology professor at Adrian College, said the community garden is one small way to help make sure people in the community, regardless of their means, have a way to get fresh food.

“I grew up in poverty, so I understand how important it is to have community resources available for whatever your needs are,” she said.

Although Boxer and her family — including husband Greg and children Benjamin and Jackson — started the gardening and organize the planting every year, they emphasize that it’s maintained by the community over the course of the growing season. To that end, although the volunteer planting day always gets the ball rolling, some space is left open so that people can plant things of their own. 

The six beds in the garden right now are about as much as the current group of volunteers can handle, but Boxer noted there’s room in the park for more if more people get involved.

“It can grow as much as people are willing to invest,” she said.

People attending the community planting day are welcome to bring hand tools, but can also just show up. Boxer noted that the work usually goes pretty quickly, so anyone who wants to help should come at 10 a.m. Donuts and coffee will be provided.

The community garden is on George Street, which is off of College Avenue roughly opposite Lenawee Recreation Bowling Center and Riverview Terrace Apartments.

Anyone who would like more information can contact Boxer at [email protected].