Gainesville Opportunity Center Partners with the Giving Garden

The GOC is a program and space where adults whose lives have been affected by mental illness come to rebuild their lives. Starting in Fall 2022, members have joined us at the Gainesville Giving Garden for monthly volunteering sessions on Friday afternoons. Members who have volunteered with us have been incredibly kind, helpful, and full of positivity.

We partnered with the GOC in an effort to expand horticultural therapy, team-building opportunities, and the productivity of our gardens. In our first work days together, GOC members helped to spread straw on vegetable beds. With their help, we covered most of our beds, which has allowed for water retention and therefore moister soil for happy plants to grow in. Most recently, we planted bunching onions, which were donated to the Giving Garden by our local seed bank, Working Food. We received a tutorial on how to plant bunching onions by a Working Food staff member, and then proceeded to plant! Following, we harvested golden cherry tomatoes, many of which GOC members took home to enjoy with friends and family.

We look forward to continued partnership with the Gainesville Opportunity Center, as their staff and members have been such a joy to collaborate with!