CRAFT Community Gardens Workshop

In June, Lotus Chaney of Buttonbush Farm led a workshop focused on community garden programs. The event was organized in partnership with the Chattanooga Food Forest Coalition and held at Ascension Lutheran Church, one of their partner garden sites in East Ridge. We toured the garden and the group participated in a planning exercise to identify available resources and needs, which gave way to a hopeful visioning discussion.

Garden Circle Activity Instructions

Purpose: To spark conversation, build shared responsibility, and identify how everyone can contribute to—and benefit from—a community garden.

Time: 15–20 minutes

Group Size: 5–20 people

Materials Needed:

• Index cards or small sheets of paper

• Pens or markers

• Poster paper or wall space labeled “Our Community Garden Agreement”

• Tape or push pins

Steps:

1. Circle Up

   Invite everyone to sit or stand in a circle. Provide each participant with an index card and pen.

2. Reflect & Write

   Ask participants to write down:

   • On one side: “One thing I can contribute to the garden (assets) ” (e.g., seeds, time, water access, compost, teaching, translation, etc.)

   • On the other side: “One thing I’d hope to receive or gain from the garden (asks)” (e.g., fresh food, community, healing space, skill-building, joy, etc.)

3. Share

   Go around the circle and invite each person to share either what they can contribute or what they hope to receive.

4. Post It

   After sharing, each person places their card on the poster or board. Over time, this becomes a visual “Community Garden Agreement” that shows mutual care and commitment.

If you’d like help adapting this activity for your own projects or building out garden leadership tools, feel free to reach out. Buttonbush Farm is happy to support other growers and organizers in our region.

The Southeast TN CRAFT (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training) program highlights farmers in the region and helps to facilitate farmer-to-farmer learning. There are many ways to approach the topics covered in the workshops. The information shared at each CRAFT workshop reflects the philosophy of the farmer-educator(s) and their findings/ways of doing things that work for them in their operation. There will always be an opportunity to learn more, dive deeper into the topics, and approach them from different angles.

This event was made possible with support from SARE and Crabtree Farms of Chattanooga.