From a hunch to reality with the DBCC
In Autumn 2023, I got an idea to build a community garden. I got the idea from Mounds Park.
At the time, Mounds Park was not really a park. It was more of an open field. By the looks of the place, it was largely unused, an open swath of land the Saint Paul Parks Department used as a maintenance hub for utility vehicles and storage units. There was only one entrance — an overgrown access in the surrounding fence tangled with vines — a popular spot for locals to dump mattresses, appliances, and bags of household waste.
There were remnants of the old park indicating it had seen better, or at least, more active days. Surrounding the field were many tall stadium lights. The lights had long since gone dead, mined possibly, for their copper wires. The lights used to illuminate what I imagined was a beautiful park. Two baseball diamonds, their backstops facing each other from the park’s far corners. There were basketball and tennis courts, both cracked and sprouting saplings. A scarred patch of cement indicated a playground had been recently removed.
But the park wasn’t dead, just sleeping, waiting for somebody to come along and shake it awake again. A community garden seemed like just the thing.
But where to start? Who to contact? Establishing a community garden was a sizeable undertaking. Who could give us the go-ahead? Where would I even start?
The Parks Department pointed me in the direction of the Dayton’s Bluff Community Council (DBCC). If I wanted to build a community garden, I would need community buy-in, which meant taking the project to the DBCC to get a letter of support and, further, funding. This was my introduction to the DBCC.
At first, I attended a couple of the DBCC’s meetings just to see how things worked. I’d show up and keep my mouth shut, listen and learn.
I found the DBCC was mostly run then, as it is now, by community volunteers, folks who were interested in the goings-on of their neighborhood and who, to the extent of their abilities, could help out. Their meetings seemed like a chance to tune in to what’s going on nearby, to spread awareness of hyper-local events and decisions. The DBCC was where neighbors got connected with organizations ranging from the Saint Paul City Council to the Minnesota Department of Transportation and local businesses.
As I pursued the Mounds Park Garden project, the DBCC became a sounding board that offered much-needed feedback and direction. They were able to help define sensible next steps I could take to turn what was a hunch into an actuality. I was going to need volunteers, community buy-in, a design for the garden, permission from landowners, and, of course, tools.
My work cut out, I proposed the project and a call for volunteers to neighbors on our local Facebook page. To my astonishment, a group of enthusiastic volunteers sprang to action.
We met at Obbs. I brought a map of the neighborhood, which we divided into sections and assigned ourselves corridors to walk door-to-door, spreading word and distributing fliers.
I drew up designs for the garden and sent them to the Parks Department. I met with Park officials at the site to discuss logistics: Where would we get water? What part of the park could we use? What about security? How about the long-term, the 10-year plan for the site? What about liability insurance? Who’s going to draft and sign the lease? What about compost? Traffic? Fertilizer? They had a myriad of questions I had never considered. But, at least now I had the questions. And with that, I could get cracking on the answers.
One of the biggest hurdles, as any project of this scope encounters, was cash. Our plans meshed conveniently with the Parks Department’s immediate plans to add security fences to the garden. They needed to install fences to keep vandals away from their equipment. They could pay for their fences. But who was going to pay for our fence? Also, we needed a water apparatus, a shed, a sod-cutter, and on and on. Again, the DBCC was able to provide direction.
I could apply for something called a Sales Tax Revitalisation (STAR) grant. There was a lengthy application in which I’d need to list all the projected expenses. And I’d need two letters of support, which I secured by the good graces of our local city Council Member, Jane Prince. The other letter of support I was able to get from the Saint Paul Parks Department.
I’m painting in broad strokes here because I don’t want to bore you with the details, which are complicated and super boring.
The truth is, getting things done in your community is not easy. It takes hard work, bordering on an obsession. It takes a flurry of emails, bordering on stalking. But what is hard work without direction? What good are emails if you don’t have the addresses to which they can be sent? My point is, the DBCC was there for me. And now, as the Vice President of the DBCC (another long, winding, boring story), I want you to know the DBCC is here for you, too.
I’m happy to report that the Mounds Park Community Garden is now a thriving project. We’ve got 32 plots ranging from 20x20’ to 4x8’. There’s been a flush of fresh vegetables in the neighborhood, enough even to donate to local food shelves! What was a patch of dry grass is now bursting with wildflowers and native plants, acrawl with bees, butterflies and other critters.
There are also a lot of mosquitoes, but that’s not the point.
Most importantly, I’ve met some of my dearest friends through the garden who, sadly, might have otherwise only been acquaintances. Together, our volunteers helped host incredible events that united friends and neighbors and organizations across the city. It’s a hell of a community, which, honestly, is a little intoxicating to consider all at once.
But the Mounds Park Garden is just one among the limitless possibilities we can accomplish here in Dayton’s Bluff. It takes a spark, sure. It starts with a good idea, enthusiasm, and a lot of hard work. And the DBCC can help focus that energy to make a hell of an impact.
So, what do you want to do? Do you want to build a playground? Do you want to install bike racks in front of your business? Does your business need new electrical work? What about folks in your community? How can you help them?
Get yourself to one of our meetings. Make your voice heard and turn what might just be a hunch into a reality.
