Springfield Oaks Community Garden Grows Produce and Pride

The five–acre Community Garden grows produce for the Food Bank of Oakland County. Under the direction of Oakland County Parks staff, Master Gardeners and the 52nd District Court Weekend & Weekday Alternative Misdemeanants (WWAM) Program, volunteers plant and care for a variety of vegetables and seedlings.

Through an average of 9,000 volunteer man-hours per year, the garden produces squash, tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, zucchini and pumpkin. Parks staff sees the garden as an excellent opportunity to teach nursery and gardening techniques, build useful skills and possibly foster an interest in the field of horticulture. 

In addition to providing much-needed food, the garden provides an option for offenders to work off their sentences and instill a sense of pride and self-esteem gained from a job well done. WWAM offenders perform community service in lieu of traditional sentences, including incarceration. Offenders have been convicted of crimes like drunk driving, driving on suspended licenses, retail fraud, disorderly conduct and trespassing.

A Boy Scout Eagle project, combined with the efforts of the Oakland Conservation District, planted, mulched and caged 700 native tree seedlings in the Community Garden Nursery.  These trees will later be relocated into the 13 Oakland County Parks.  A similar effort is ongoing, as plant material from park areas currently under construction are relocated to the garden as a “holding area”, to be replanted at their home parks when construction is complete. Parks staff also looks upon the garden as an opportunity to “close the loop” with other environmental stewardship programs already in place. For example: manure, aquatic weeds and leaves composted at other park sites can be used at the community garden.

Other gardening partners include the 52nd District Court, Oakland County Fair Association, Clarkston Rotary Club and MSU Extension Service/Master Gardeners.  Bordine Nursery, Ltd. - The Plant Place donated a used greenhouse. The greenhouse is used for community service opportunities to grow annual flowers, perennial plants and wildflowers that can be used within the parks system.

By utilizing volunteer labor and continuing its partnerships, the garden represents a win-win situation, yielding not only produce, but pride as well.