 |
Dedication of the Acers Community Garden
1:00PM Sunday, March 21, 2010
ACERS COMMUNITY GARDEN
Central Christian Church
4711 Westside Drive
Dallas, TX 75209-6099
For centuries, community gardens have been an integral part of life in Europe and, for a lesser time, in Canada, Australia and the U.S. Many of us recall the Victory Gardens of WW II, but those were customarily private plots on private property.
The beginnings of the Community Garden effort in Dallas can be traced to 1987 when Don Lambert -the guru of community gardening in Dallas-and a handful of other pioneers started the East Dallas Community Garden. The original purpose of that garden was to assist with the assimilation of the many Southeast Asian refugees who were relocating to Dallas at the time.
From that original garden which was built on what had been a trash-strewn vacant lot near Fitzhugh and Live Oak, there now are nearly 40 such gardens across the MetroPlex; more sprout up each year. Don Lambert's group, Gardeners in Community Development (GICD), maintains a waiting list of churches, civic groups and individuals wanting guidance and help in getting underway with their own gardens.
Typically, contemporary community gardens most directly benefit two groups: the gardeners, their families and friends, and those who have fallen on hard times. From this second group, those who are in need, the intended beneficiary of our garden donations will be North Dallas Shared Ministries which is the largest of the member agencies of the North Texas Food Bank and last year alone distributed over $1,600,000 in goods from their food pantry. On a smaller scale but no less impressive, each year GICD gardens donate 3-4 tons of fresh vegetables from their small urban plots. At North Dallas Shared Ministries, fresh produce picked in the morning and delivered to the distribution point is usually gone by noon and probably cooked for supper that same day!
Being here today for this dedication to the Acers family, we are acknowledging a critical link in the chain of Dallas gardens. From 1986-89 Maurice Acers headed the Advisory Council of Communities Foundation of Texas and it was his far-sighted leadership that resulted in the Communities Foundation providing land on which the first Asian Garden was built. Since that time, Communities Foundation of Texas has provided other tracts for additional gardens.
Today, we are proud to honor the Acers family name with the dedication of this land which we know will continue and sustain a wonderful legacy of the family's generous support of our city, our neighborhoods and our church. Please join me in expressing our thanks to Effie Elizabeth Acers, Maurice and Ebby Halliday Acers.
|
CENTRAL MEDIA PANEL |
WESTSIDE CAFE PODCAST
The Westside Cafe is now available as a podcast. Click here to go to the Westside Cafe home page on this website.
|
|
|
|
|
SERMON PODCAST
MEET OUR MEMBERS
CAN'T GET TO CHUCRH?
RSS MEDIA FEEDS FOR OUR PODCASTS |
 |
Click on the icon for the Sunday Worship Podcast for M4A files. |
|
Click on the icon for the Sunday Worship Podcast for MP3 files. |
|
Click on the icon for the Westside Cafe Podcast for M4A files. |
|
Click on the icon for the Westside Cafe Podcast for MP3 files. |
©2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 Central Christian Church | Leadership Portal | Logout | Site Editors
Supporting the Park Cities Broadband Initiative
|