The garden manager, Dave Schmelzer has been taking extra produce from the community garden to the Allamakee Farmers Market. So far over $100 has been raised to support the garden and its expenses.
The mayor and several city councilmen are interesting the data being collected from the sidewalk assessments. They want to prioritize sidewalk repair around the schools to encourage more kids to walk and bike to school. Sidewalk repair was a major piece of their platform at the election. Already, you can see new stretches of sidewalks around town. It is nice to have the leadership interested in the appearance and safety of our town.
In addition, the area recently received a Safe Routes to School grant which will help us do student and parent surveys to learn more about the walking and biking habits of people in our town.
Well, all the plots in the Community Garden have been rented. In fact, we had to add more space to the shared space in the garden. We have a wide diveristy of participants: coworkers, friends, a 4-H club, apartment dwellers, retired farm couple. We have secured several resources for the garden. Waukon Implement is donating the use of a riding lawn mower for lawn upkeep. Pioneer Hybrid seed dealer donated the sweet corn seed. The landowner paid for part of the tiller gas. The people who have plots are really starting to bond as well. Often you can see them sitting in the shade visiting once the work is done!
One of the needs identified in the Study Circle discussions was the condition of the sidewalks in town. Missing or damaged sidewalks prevent families from being able to spend time together in a safe environment. If families wanted to take advantage of the great parks in Waukon or go for a walk, they often have to walk in the streets. Safety for pedestrians crosses all social levels, but can be an additional hardship on low-income families as gas prices continue to rise and walking or biking become more of a reality for them.
Waukon and Postville were identified as the two communities in NE IA to participate in a Barrier Mapping project as part of the NE IA Food & Fitness Initiative. The Food & Fitness Initiative is an effort of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to create vibrant communities with equal access to affordable, healthy food and safe and inviting places physical activity and play. Nine communities across the country have been selected to become models of community change. They are forming local collaboratives to improve the health and quality of life in their communities by transforming their food and fitness environments.
Volunteers from Waukon have been busy walking the sidewalks, taking notes and photos and marking locations on GPS to create an on-line map of the community. Not only will the community benefit from this process, but we are also the pilot for the 5-county area. We will be reporting on how this process works and how other communities can replicate it in the future.