VAN BUREN, Maine – In 2008, a flood devastated a 3.1 acre cul-de-sac on Grant Street in downtown Van Buren, ruining three houses. Now, the town is working on a $77,785 project to transform this area into a creative space by building a community garden and greenhouse.
The town was recently awarded a $44,345 Community Action Grant through the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future to help fund the project. Van Buren Town Manager Luke Dyer said the grant is to develop at least 10 community garden spaces and also to purchase a 30-foot by 80-foot greenhouse.
Dyer said the financial gap will be filled with a combination of municipal funds and significant in-kind labor to build the boxes and greenhouse.
Anthony Ronzio, Deputy Director of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, said the Community Resilience Partnership, which supplied the grant, has supported community garden projects in Berwick, Otisfield, and Waterford. The Partnership supports these gardens as part of larger overall projects.
In Van Buren’s case, the 3.1 acre cul-de-sac will also get a park, walking path, pavilion, and a dog park in addition to the community garden and greenhouse. The garden boxes will also be designed to address stormwater runoff toward Violette Stream, and ideally remediate riverbank erosion.
The Partnership, Ronzio said, began in 2021 and helps towns address the effects of climate change via grant funding. Van Buren is one of 226 communities in Maine participating in the program.
“Creating the Partnership was also done in recognition that many communities, especially smaller and rural communities, may lack the funding, staff or capacity to undertake projects like this,” Ronzio said.
These gardens, in addition to allowing residents to grow their own food, can also provide a sense of community and purpose.
The City of Presque Isle, about 45 minutes south of Van Buren, started a community garden about 10 years ago. The garden began as a collaboration between a local 4-H club and the Presque Isle Housing Authority.
Presque Isle Community Garden Manager Shelby Wilson said the garden helps people supplement their diets through gardening, and that it also promotes healthy living and having a sustainable impact on the community.
“For a lot of individuals, it plays into their therapeutic needs,” Wilson said. “Some of their health and social needs are met through it, which is good.”
She said community gardens are an asset to any community, and that Presque Isle has collaborated with multiple local organizations in working on their garden, such as the Rotary Club and Wintergreen Arts.
“There are multiple ways it can benefit a community, and ultimately it comes down to the community and creativity of those involved,” Wilson said.
In addition to the garden, Van Buren’s greenhouse will also help the town create a canopy, which is part of Maine DOT’s Village Partnership Initiative to improve the downtown and village center area.
“There’s a lot of tree planting involved in canopies,” Dyer said. “The greenhouse is going to allow us to grow our own as a community project. We want to invest personally into the creation of that canopy by growing it ourselves.”
Looking ahead, Dyer is meeting with Department of Environmental Protection officials for permitting, selecting a greenhouse, and to begin building the garden boxes. Ideally, he said everything will be ready as soon as the snow melts next spring.
“These projects offer tangible benefits such as reducing carbon emissions, enhancing stormwater management, and providing educational opportunities,” Dyer said of the Grant Street projects. “Moreover, they provide a sense of community pride and ownership, as residents come together to create a more sustainable and vibrant Van Buren.”
