Our Story
In 2016 a vacant lot in the Riverside neighborhood was transformed into a community garden by residents. An MOU was signed, soil was tested, and a dream began to take shape.
The Riverside Neighborhood Association quickly purchased a water hydrant, which was installed by neighborly plumbers. Other donations quickly followed, and by the end of the first gardening season in 2017, there were 26 raised beds filled with soil, a garden shed, a little free library, an herb bed, compost bins, and a pollinator garden–all created through the kindness of neighbors, friends, and businesses. People looking for a sunny spot to grow vegetables or those who drove through the neighborhood on their way to work rented beds and held community events at the site.
Over the next few years, an Eagle Scout Project gave us the crown jewel of our site, a beautiful pergola for all to enjoy.
In 2021 as our MOU was ending we began the search for a new site. We formed a nonprofit and signed a lease with the City of Wichita at 802 Amidon in July of 2022. The garden is still located between the Arkansas River and city parkland, but is more than double the size of our original location and came to us as a completely undeveloped green space.
We began moving at the end of the growing season, installed water lines and four frost-proof water hydrants, moved and refilled the original beds with soil, and reconstructed the pergola and shed. We added new raised beds and marked out in-ground beds. We were able to place a greater emphasis on produce donation, designating a large in-ground bed and raised beds to feed our community. That first year we gathered gardeners, and neighbors and drew on our community network to raise money for capital improvements. We also cemented a partnership with the Sedgwick County Extension Office Master Gardeners that will sustain us through the coming years.
Beyond sharing what gardeners individually grow, we collectively donate produce through the Master Gardeners’ Plant A Row project, in partnership with ICT Food Rescue. We also share fresh vegetables with the animal ambassadors at the Kansas Wildlife Exhibit in Central Riverside Park. In 2023 we were able to donate nearly 1200 pounds of food, grown from plants and seeds mainly donated for us to use.
Native pollinator beds were planted in the easement beginning in 2024, as part of the Riverside Pollinator Project, a neighborhood plant and seed-sharing initiative. Extending pollinator pathways through the neighborhood is promoted by neighbors and collaborative local organizations. Those interested in pollinator plants, native insects, and creating a healthier sustainable environment work together under the banner of Bee City Wichita, the first Xerces Society designated location in the state of Kansas.
Individual gardeners pay a refundable deposit and rental fee and sign a Gardener’s Agreement in return for the use of a garden bed. The cost is negotiable, should it be an issue. Neighbors and friends join us for workdays and projects to improve the property, for events or stop in to chat as they are walking by.
Riverside Garden, by design, promotes both sustainability and community. We welcome all to be part of our community.
