Greenbrook plots community garden concept

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Lakewood Ranch resident Carolyn Lowry-Nation is eager to get her hands dirty, and she’s convinced others feel the same way.

As she and Greenbrook resident Joe Sidiski sat around a conference table at Lakewood Ranch Town Hall’s operations building April 28, they shared with residents their visions for bringing a community garden to Greenbrook Adventure Park.

“A lot of us enjoy gardening, and we don’t have the opportunity to do this in our own yards,” Lowry-Nation said.

Sidiski, a supervisor on the Lakewood Ranch Community Development District 4 board, said he believes the garden will not only provide an opportunity for residents to harvest their own produce but also will cultivate a new opportunity to socialize.

The board has tentatively approved $4,000 in seed money to fund the startup of the garden, although the budget for the new fiscal year won’t be finalized until the fall. 

Lakewood Ranch Town Hall Operations Director Ryan Heise came up with the idea for the garden and approached the CDD 4 board with it.

“I have a personal passion,” he said of how he came up with the idea. “I’ve gained some insight to all of the positive benefits of community gardens and I thought, ‘Why not here in Lakewood Ranch?’”

Sidiski, Lowry-Nation and Heise are still working out plans for the proposed garden  in Lakewood Ranch. But based on tours of other community gardens in the area, they believe they’ll have a waiting list for plots.

“We’re pretty far from shovels in the ground yet, but (it’s a step) in the right direction,” Sidiski said. 

Some details are firm: The garden will be fenced with access restricted to plot owners, and plot owners would be responsible for watering and weeding their plots and probably for contributing to the overall upkeep of the garden. No dogs will be allowed in the garden. Gardeners Out East club will spearhead management of the amenity.

But other details, such as the exact location of the garden, size of the plots and whether the garden will have raised or in-ground beds, for example, are still to be determined.

The group plans to host a Lakewood Ranch communitywide meeting sometime within the next month at Town Hall to gauge interest in the project. 

“We have a small group of dedicated residents trying to make this happen,” Sidiski said.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].