Volunteer Opportunities | Free Farmers Market | Personal Plot Rentals | Events | Photos
The Enos Park Neighborhood Gardens are a collaboration between Kumler Outreach Ministries and the Enos Park Neighborhood Improvement Association
2024 Year End Accomplishments
Year End Garden Statistics:
Total volunteer and visitor engagements: over 2400
Total pounds of produce harvested: over 1800
Volunteer groups:
Hope Church
Junior League of Springfield
SIU School of Medicine
SIU Culinary Medicine Interest Group
St. Gerard Catholic Church in Lansing, Michigan
Project Animal Freedom
Illinois Department of Revenue
CMT (Crawford, Murphy & Tilly)
Sierra Club Sangamon Valley Group
Grants received from:
Community Foundation – $5000 (weatherproof children’s library, new fence, harvest
bins, continued outreach efforts)
Brandt Foundation – $5000 (greenhouse fund)
Blue Cross Blue Shield – $700 (Garden Jamboree event) Aetna – $25,000 (wheelchair accessible garden)
Junior League of Springfield Capacity Building Fund – $388 (non profit and grant writing classes)
Springfield Civic Garden Club – $2000 (greenhouse fund)
Slow Food Springfield – $750 (cedar wood for raised bed replacement)
Hospital Sisters of St. Francis, San Damiano Fund – $10,000 (greenhouse fund)
Donations:
Dr. John Flack – funding Eat A Rainbow, a 6-week series of ecology classes, and Kids Fare Garden Club, which runs from May through August
Collaborations:
Springfield Waste and Recycling – Children’s Pollinator Garden Kidzeum – Children’s Pollinator Mural
IDPH – free lead soil screening event
Urban Forestry Commission – free tree giveaway
Springfield Park District – free milkweed giveaway
SIU School of Medicine H.E.A.L.T.H. Depots – free wellness checks
League of Women Voters – register voters
SIU Office of Community Care – free children’s hygiene kits
Dr. John Flack of SIU – wellness checks
SIU Office of Community Care – provided Community Health Worker on site
Food Fantasies – raised $175 through Round Up for Charity program
In Kind Donations:
Jim Nachtwey/Ace Hardware on Wabash – seeds
Slow Food Springfield – 10 bulbs of garlic
Ace Hardware on Walnut – seeds
Gloria Ferguson – children’s sand table
Clare Shea – children’s playhouse
Butler School Garden – produce John Shafer – 4 autumn serviceberry trees for streetscape beautification
Kumler Outreach Ministries – upgraded spigot plus water line extension and new spigot
Springfield Park District – mulch
Let’s Go Compost – books for children’s library
Lincoln Land Community College’s Highway Construction Careers Training Program –
creation and installation of four composting units
Williamsville Public Library – seeds and storybook walk
Seedling donations:
Humphreys Market
3B Natives
Greenview Nursery
Lincoln Memorial Garden
Moon Girl Farm
Community members
Other accomplishments:
Hosted a free farmers market from June through August, with delicious samples and free recipes.
Hosted six weeks of free children’s ecology classes, plus held a free children’s garden club from May through August.
Revived our Instagram page
(https://www.instagram.com/enosparkneighborhoodgardens/)
Donated over 2000 seeds to our community, also filled Lincoln Library’s seed catalog.
Redistributed over 1500 donated seedlings.
Saw a record monthly number of engagements in June with 616 visitor and volunteer engagements.
Hosted a free strawberry U-pick, open to the public during garden hours.
Established Come and Pick Garden as well as Children’s Garden from SIU’s 2023 CHOP grant.
Planted 8 blueberry bushes from previous Community Foundation Grant.
Established a fairy Tree with a take a rock, leave a rock option.
Shared strawberry and other berry plants with the community.
Gave away seeds and information at Earth Awareness Fair.
Hosted a garden tour for Soil Health Week in conjunction with Illinois Stewardship Alliance.
Presented to the St. Francis Hospital Sisters, Springfield Civic Garden Club, Local Everything Conference, and AIM (Agroecology + Innovation Matters).
Taught a class on how to start a community garden.
Special thanks to:
Sharon Brown, for the massive amount of institutional support given, plus the additional financial support from Kumler Outreach Ministries.
Bethany Payne, for being a wonderful friend and support.
Andrew Heathwaite, for always saying yes to my pleas for additional help. Sydney and Djamina, for harvesting and preparing delicious sample dishes for the Free Farmers Market.
Maire Schaver, for being the artistic director for our children’s pollinator mural—and to her dad Darrell for installing the hardware for it.
Randy and John, for fixing everything that breaks, and then some.
Alana Reynolds, for being a wonderful leader in our children’s activities, plus sharing surplus produce from the Butler School Garden. Bethany, Corey, Ayla, Liz, Airn, Debbie, Kaye, and Phoenix – we appreciate our regular volunteers so much!
Lauren Baker, for mowing and all the extra support given when asked.
John Shafer, for designing and improving our streetscape.
Junior League of Springfield, for volunteering every month for special projects.
United Methodist Foundation, for partnering with us in our application for our wheelchair-accessible garden grant.
Thank you for an outstanding year!