Sustainability Spotlight: Good Earth Garden, a Community Garden at Donaldson Park

The Good Earth Garden can be traced back to 1984. Records filed at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County indicate that Pegi Ballister-Howells, with the help of donations and the cooperation of towns, Rutgers University, and local businesses, worked to bring several gardens to life. As far back as 1991, there were four community garden sites in Buccleuch Park, Donaldson Park, Livingston Gardens on Livingston Campus, and a small garden on Talmadge Street. Only Livingston Gardens and the Good Earth Garden in Highland Park, located in Donaldson Park across from the dog park, remain from the original project. The original Good Earth Garden contained 29 plots, but in 2017, with the support of Middlesex County Parks and Recreation, the garden was expanded to 45 plots.

In Spring 2015, Rutgers Cooperative Extension was no longer able to continue its support of the Good Earth Garden. Dedicated gardeners organized themselves to keep the garden going and found a new sponsor in Elijah’s Promise. Today the garden is a joint endeavor of the Middlesex County Office of Parks and Recreation and the Reformed Church of Highland Park-Affordable Housing Corporation (RCHP-AHC). A volunteer committee of 5-6 gardeners keeps the garden moving forward, but all gardeners contribute to the well-being of the garden by taking on specific tasks.

With 45 plots, each gardener pays $20/month for a plot and agrees to abide by rules and regulations that encourage active gardening and weed management. Most gardeners grow vegetables and flowers for their consumption. However, during the active growing season, excess produce is donated to the cafe at the Reformed Church of Highland Park.
On average, the garden waitlist is 35 people, with prospective gardeners waiting 4-5 years to join the Good Earth Garden community. While some gardeners may stay for only a few years, some have been gardening since the 1980s.

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