Merrill Community Sharing Garden Overview

Mission:

  • Our mission is to transform a vacant lot into something of greater beauty and purpose.
  • To create opportunities for broader community engagement in the Merrill Neighborhood.
  • To provide fresh produce to our neighbors
  • To preserve, respect, and enjoy the natural biodiversity of the garden

Currently:

The Merrill Community Sharing Garden (MCSG) is an .8 of an acre, three lot urban farm located in Beloit’s Merrill Neighborhood.  This neighborhood is one of the most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in the city of Beloit and southern Wisconsin. All the produce that is grown is distributed to the surrounding community. This gives the neighborhood access to a positive green space, fresh produce, educational activities, and mental health benefits. We partner with the University of Wisconsin Extension to host nutrition programming for the surrounding neighborhood with various nonprofits and youth groups. We service around 50 homes in the Merrill Neighborhood. We tailor what we grow to the neighborhood by growing a diverse array of crops. We have planted 9 native plant beds around the MCSG to help support the local biodiversity of the area. In 2024 we found the critically endangered Rusty Patched Bumblebee in our urban community garden.

Beginnings:

In 2008, a group of young gang-affiliated teens started congregating on a vacant lot in the 1300 block of Porter Avenue, just down the street from Beloit Fresh Start rehab project.  Concerned with the impact these teens were having on the area, a variety of intervention options were considered.  Eventually, we received permission from the landowner to plant a small 10’x10’ garden on the property.  The concept being that having “church ladies” planting flowers on the property would be a deterrent to the teens wanting to hang around.  It took about three weeks before the teens decided to move on.  People enjoyed the garden activities enough that it was decided to continue it in 2009.

Beloit Fresh Start:

In 2018, Beloit Fresh Start students started to regularly volunteer in the MCSG. This gives the students an understanding in horticulture, food production, mental health resiliency, and community building. It also helps the neighborhood by improving vacant lots and showing investment in the Merrill Neighborhood. The students complete part of their 450 hours of community service in the MCSG. By completing the 450 hours of community service students can earn a $1,900 college education award that will benefit their future.