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Contra Costa Marketplace - March 2017

A Cultivated Community West County is more agriculturally inclined than meets the eye. By Matt Larson With so much going on in West County and so little space to cover even half of the tremendous efforts put forth my members of our community to make this an even greater place to live, we wanted to look back to last year’s inaugural Urban Garden Contest and Showcase spearheaded by Richmond’s own Mayor Tom Butt. As an avid gardener himself, the mayor understands firsthand the wide range of benefits that come from gardening. With local horticultural nonprofits like West County DIGS and popular events like the Bring Back the Natives Garden Tour, as well as many Richmond residents proudly cultivating their own home gardens, Mayor Butt was confident they could find enough local interest to support the Urban Garden Contest and Showcase in Richmond. And he was right! 12 amazing gardens ended up participating in the inaugural event during July 4th weekend, 2016. Many visitors who attended were excited to start their own garden, or improve what they’ve started, and were able to ask questions about new crops they were considering. Growing edible crops is not only a replenishing source of healthy food, but a form of recreation as well with some very tasty rewards. The mayor’s office stated that as they grow this event, they’d like to see more novice gardeners, and future first-time gardeners, to get down and dirty and start planting some crops. First prize went to Lauren and Attila Horvath whose garden featured apples, pears, peaches, figs, blueberries, grapes, carrots, peppers, kaffir limes, tree collards… basically they’re cultivating their own personal farmers’ market. “The gardens were as unique as the various neighborhoods they were in,” said Mayor Butt. “Having several areas represented proved that you can have a great edible garden anywhere in Richmond.” On the surface level, this event was designed to encourage more local residents to grow home gardens, and to help avid gardeners connect with their neighbors and learn about local resources. The general drive of


Contra Costa Marketplace - March 2017
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