N. Cass Community Garden accepting apps until April 14

A vacant lot at the southwest corner of Second and Willis will be put to good use this year as the North Cass Community Garden. The University Cultural Center Association (UCCA) is looking for a few green thumbs to garden the land, which is about a third of an acre in size.

Individual plots are four by eight feet -- or four by four for ADA-accessible ones -- and restaurant/commercial plots are eight by 12. Up to 70 gardeners can be accommodated at the site.

Although the site has been remediated and the soil will be capped with clean dirt, the plots will be raised beds to further ensure uncontaminated crops. "We're going above and beyond what the DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) requires," says UCCA fundraising manager Annemarie Borocki, who also points out that the garden will be fully organic. Site clean-up and preparation is expected to cost up to $75,000.

Individual plots are $25 for the year and commercial ones $50. Amenities such as benches, a storage shed, rain barrels and a perimeter fence are all being planned, but might not all be available at the start of the growing season. UCCA has joined the Garden Resource Program; N. Cass gardeners will be eligible for that program's benefits at a reduced cost.

Contact Borocki at 313-577-5088 to request an application form; they are due on April 14. On April 18 at 9 a.m. there will be a site cleanup; volunteers will again gather to begin building the raised beds on May 9.

Borocki credits Ann Arbor-based JJR with providing pro bono landscape design for the garden as a part of their employee volunteer program.

Source: Annemarie Borocki, UCCA
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh