Fort Myers Area Community Gardens

Residents of Cape Coral and Bonita Springs can get their hands dirty and learn to grow their own vegetables with new community gardens in their neighborhoods. Residents of Cape Coral will soon get a community garden next to City Hall. The Cape Coral Rotary Club is footing the entire bill to place a 52-plot community garden at the north end of City Hall. It will be put between Southeast 10th Street and Cultural Park Boulevard. While the city will manage the garden, the Rotary Club will pay to create the 10 feet-by-10 feet plots. While the project has been proposed several times before, it got the green light from Cape Coral’s City Council by a unanimous vote since the Rotary Club agreed to fund the entire project. Each plot is estimated to cost roughly $50 a year to maintain it. Community gardens appeal to condo homeowners and snowbirds that don’t have a yard connected to their house to grow plants and vegetables. Community gardens add value and improve the community. Residents are able to grow their own food in a local community garden. The Bonita Springs Community Garden is located at the YMCA of Bonita Springs, 27200 Kent Road, next to the soccer fields. With a community commitment to residents who want to grow their own fresh produce in a safe nurturing environment for themselves or their family, two Rotary Clubs of Bonita Springs (the Rotary Club of Bonita Springs Noon and the Rotary Club of Bonita Springs) participated in a joint effort to build the Rotary Community Garden of Bonita Springs. Residents learn to eat healthier, and interact with each other about gardening. The community garden provides members with garden space, water, soil, tools and seeds. Gardeners will be able to maintain and harvest their plants. Members must be residents of Bonita Springs. Gardeners are charged a $50 yearly fee, and can rent one of the raised beds 3 feet-by10 feet or 4 feet-by-10 feet. The community garden will give children access to learning about planting a garden, in addition to learning how plants grow while working together. Classes are taught by master gardeners and held throughout the year.