DUG Gardens are Places of Impact
The oft overlooked power of growing your own food
I have been the Executive Director of Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) for 9 months. I stepped into an organization that was established in 1985 and has been having a seismic impact on my beloved hometown all the while. Let me tell you how.
At the core, DUG builds and supports community gardens.
What are community gardens? In DUG’s case, gardens live mostly on city, parks, or school land and are made up of 10–150 plots that are cultivated by individuals or families for their own consumption. Most gardeners either don’t have land because their residence doesn’t include it (apartment), their land is shaded and/or inhospitable to growing things or are seeking community and want to be part of something bigger. Individuals in each garden share resources, collaborate and work alongside others in service to garden harmony. We ask that 10% of all produce grown be donated — to food banks, neighbors, or simply put in gardenside baskets for anyone to take.
But our food-producing urban spaces pack a mightier punch than most realize. The mere act of growing your own food in community is transformative — both for people and the planet.
First and most simply, when you dig in the dirt, your physical and mental health is positively impacted. There is a zen quality to it, yes, but countless studies show that touching soil and connecting with plants has a measurable impact on mood, reducing anxiety and depression, rebuilding and restoring a healthy gut biome and overall health and wellness. Google “health benefits of gardening” and you’ll see what I mean. This feels like a pretty simple, accessible prescription without negative side effects, right?
Non-chemical-based gardening and farming can literally save our planet. Regenerative and organic practices are used in all DUG gardens to mitigate climate impact. This means no chemical pesticides or fertilizers, no tilling (we don’t turn the soil and dig up last years’ crops, but rather leave them in place to feed the soil over the winter), use of cover crops and mulch to protect and nourish the soil, and crop diversity so that soil nutrients are refreshed, not depleted. Soil. Soil. Soil. We are enriching and rebuilding the soil with every carrot grown. Not to mention, 32 acres of Denver have been greened, sequestering tons of carbon, providing urban green spaces for the surrounding neighborhood and welcoming pollinators of all kinds. And we teach and promote composting — turning plant waste into nutrient-rich food for the soil.
Being able to grow your own food is the ultimate act of self-determination. After the year we’ve had and the realization that fortunes can turn on a dime, more people now see how tenuous our structural supports can be. An obscene number of people are already living day-to-day. And that number is increasing. According to Hunger Free Colorado, 33% of Coloradoans lack reliable access to nutritious food while nationwide, 42 million people are experiencing food insecurity. Gardening allows people to provide for themselves on pennies alone. DUG gardens grow over 650,000 lbs of fresh organic fruits and vegetables every year.
Our community gardens gardens are the foundation on which hundreds of people are building and reinforcing skills. From elementary school children who are learning hands-on botany and taking our online cooking classes to our teen interns who have restored gardens all around Denver and seen (and tasted) the fruits of their labor throughout the summer. From our mighty volunteers who help us build new gardens every week to our DUG Corps and FC Apprentice who are learning how to build and maintain the physical infrastructure of gardens along with community organizing, leadership and advocacy.
And finally, the special sauce in what DUG does is community. All of the benefits above are extraordinary in their own right, but by doing these things alongside others, we amplify their impact. We are stronger together, and our gardens knit together neighborhoods, cross pollinate skills and knowledge, celebrate cultural differences, and make us all more than the sum of our parts.
Please learn more about DUG. Keep an eye out for a DUG sign (we have 188 gardens across 6 counties in Metro Denver) and when you see one, stop and visit the garden and talk to the gardeners. Join our online community at community.dug.org, join a garden or support our work at www.dug.org/donate. We exist to help Denver grow. All of Denver. Help DUG grow.
