FTC Disclosure *My visit to Roswell was part of a Press Trip in partnership with IFWTWA however all opinions are my own.*
During my recent visit to Roswell, Georgia I was pleasantly surprised at how many opportunities are in the community to ‘give back’. I must admit the Unity Garden at the Chattahoochee Nature Center really stood out. Established in 2010, the garden works to produce, donate, and educate.
Mary from the blog Along Comes Mary checking out the gardens.
The quarter of an acre garden is run by Tricia Nitti, the garden coordinator, along with dedicated volunteers. Tricia prides herself in growing vegetables for various ethnic cultures so that they may have a taste of home during difficult times. Tricia and her team deliver fresh vegetables and greens once or twice a week to local community charities. Tricia’s hard work along with volunteers ,who dedicated over 3200 hours of service in 2016, were able to donate 10,166 lbs (over 5 tons) of fresh produce to North Fulton Community Charities between Jan. 1 and Nov. 22. That’s pretty incredible. I can’t wait to see their 2017 numbers. To date, they have delivered over 27,000 pounds of fresh produce.
Me with Tricia Nitti-Garden Coordinator
The Unity Garden welcomes volunteers, both individuals and groups, all year long. Charitable organizations, high schools, universities, and corporations have all volunteered on scheduled work days. Previous gardening experience is not required. The main priority is food production so harvesting and replanting are common jobs that you may be assigned while volunteering. Jobs change based on season and even by week. View a complete list of volunteer details HERE. This is a great field trip for school groups as the children can see first hand how the food they eat is grown.
This is an important project of the Chattahoochee Nature Center and I highly recommend visiting whether you are a local or just passing through.
Hours of Operation of the Chattahoochee Nature Center
Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm
Sunday Noon-5pm
General Admission:
- $10 Adults
- $7 Seniors (Ages 65+) & Students (Ages 13-18)
- $6 Children (Ages 3-12)
- Children 2 and Under are free
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About Chattahoochee Nature Center: Our goal for the youth community: to foster an active awareness and understanding of the ecology of the natural world through interactive, hands-on learning experiences.
Our goal for the adult community: to provide a local place for adult learning experiences, volunteerism, and outdoor family activities that strengthens the environmental stewardship commitment within the community.