Community Blueberries
The idea behind the community blueberries project is to begin establishing more perennial food sources in our neighborhoods. It’s also to build relationships among neighbors who are interested in this kind of thing.
In January 2021, we planted 71 blueberry bushes in the Forest Heights and Newtown neighborhoods of Athens, GA, followed by another 30 plants in January 2022, and roughly 25 more in January 2023. In June 2021, we held the first Forest Heights Blueberry Festival and raised $1,500 for more bushes, and the second and third annual festivals (the first weekend in June) were even bigger successes.
Now it’s time for another planting!
If you’re interested in hosting a community blueberry patch in your front yard, or helping out on planting day, sign up below. (If you signed up last year, you don’t need to do it again. We’ve got you!) If you need more information, keep reading below.
So What’s the Deal?
We aim to plant five or six new patches of blueberry bushes in sunny spots along the streets throughout Forest Heights and Hampton Park on January 27, 2024. Plus, we’ll weed, mulch and fertilize the existing patches, and add signs that explain: These blueberries are for anyone to pick and eat.
Why Blueberries?
For one thing, who doesn’t like blueberries? Plus, once they become established in an ideal location, they’re robust, prolific bushes. With relatively little work, they can provide us with food for years to come.
Clyde Yates of Hungry Gnome Gardenscapes had this project idea in mind for several years. When he told me about it, I thought it was perfect for a fledgling community of earth regenerators.
How Can People Get Involved?
Thanks for asking! We need two things:
Host yards spread throughout Forest Heights and Hampton Park with good street-side locations for planting. These hosts must also be willing to let people step into their yards to pick and eat the blueberries. To date, about 60 homes have volunteered to host, but many do not have adequate sunlight or visibility. However, we’ll reconsider all of those homes again this year (unless they ask to be removed from the list), but we’ve already used many of the best sites. So, if you think you have a good spot, and you’re willing, please fill out this form ASAP.
Volunteer workers. We aim to install all of the new blueberry bushes in a single day, while also weeding, mulching and fertilizing the 20 existing patches, plus building new, larger enclosures for some of the patches we planted in 2021. We learned a lot the last few years, and we have equipment that will speed the process, but we still need lots of help from individuals and families in the community. In particular, we would love to work with neighborhood kids or teens. If you or a young person you know is willing to help on Saturday, February 11, please fill out the volunteer form.
If you have any questions…
contact me, Bart King, at 706-340-3140 or Bart.King@4NewGrowth.com.
Thanks so much for your interest in this project. We’ll post updates as the weeks go by. Register your email at the bottom of the page to have news about this and other regenerator projects sent directly to your inbox.
Take care!
Bart and his daughter, Lucille