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Project, community, and Westmont Rotary club members involvement: WPL MG Giving Garden includes University of Illinois trained Master Gardener volunteers. Our primary mission is to provide fresh produce to People's Resource Center in Westmont. In 2023, the garden donated over 140 lbs. of fresh produce. Our goal is to increase the harvest by 20% for 2024. The funds from this grant will help us achieve that goal. The majority of the requested budget, about 75%, is for reusable gardening supplies. The supplies will improve our efficiency and productivity in 2024 and for many years moving forward. The other funds will be used for planting the garden.
Our secondary mission is to educate community members on home gardening. We respond to in person questions from the library patrons on topic such as the benefits of straw bales gardening, managing insects at home, landscaping dilemmas, plants that are not thriving, and much more. Also, the library works with us to provide information for their garden blog and social media posts to keep their patrons updated on gardening information. Although this is an important part of our mission, none of the grant funds are being requested to support this service provided to the community.
The Rotary Club of Westmont agreed to sponsor the Garden and their President, Paul Glyman signed off on the proposal on January 9, 2024. The Westmont Rotary members will be involved in the initial planting of the garden in May 2024. Rotary's involvement will be publicized through Westmont Public Library social media, Facebook and Instagram, Westmont Rotary Club, the Village of Westmont, and the Rotary District 6450 Website.
Dates/Timeline:
December 2023-January 2024- purchase gardening supplies
May 2024 - purchase live materials and garden planting
June- Oct 2024 - garden maintenance, watering, harvesting
Total Project budget: $500
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