Dunlap Community Garden
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The overarching goal of the garden is to offer an affordable food source to the Dunlap community that encourages physical activity and healthy eating habits.
Children’s Plots
Children pay a small fee and are able to plant and manage their own plot for the year.
Private Plots
Private plots are reserved annually for private use. Private plot gardeners can plant whatever they like as long as it fits within the garden’s guidelines.
May 6, 2024 is the deadline to rent a garden plot.
Community Plots
Community plots are open to everyone. They are planted and cared for by volunteers. The ground plots are 10’ x 5’ and the raised beds are 8’ x 3’. There are no fees associated with these plots and the produce is free for the taking. May 6, 2024 is the deadline to rent a garden plot.
Click here to view a map of the plots
Click here to apply for plot space (online form)
Click here to apply for a plot space (printable)
(Mail a check payable to "Boyer Valley Girl Scouts" to Lynnette Dunham at 3385 130th St, Dunlap, IA 51529)
Additional Benefits
Fruit trees will be planted along the border of the garden and raspberry bushes and rhubarb will be planted near the shed. There will be a bench for volunteers to sit and rest, community gardening tools and a communication board at the garden, as well as a hanging basket where members can share ideas, information and produce.
Volunteers
When you sign up for one or multiple week-long slot(s), you are committing to watering the community plots in the community garden for that time period. Volunteers also need to pick excess produce, check the donation basket for the food pantry, and weed the community plots.
Click here to sign up for a week-long volunteer slot (online form)
Important Resources
Click here to view the Community Garden Brochure (printable)
Click here to view the Dunlap Community Garden Rules (printable)
Background
The Dunlap Community Garden was initiated by the following members of Boyer Valley Girl Scouts Troop 163: Hope Beeck, Hazel Gilflores, Sophia Malone, and Ava Van Houten (led by Lynnette Dunham). This garden was a project the girls chose to pursue to earn their Girl Scout Silver Award, which is the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette (6th - 8th grader) can earn. The girls spent a year and a half on this project.
The steps that the Girl Scouts have achieved:
- Crowd sourced within the community to determine the level of interest in the project
- Toured three community gardens in Omaha
- Met with the Shelby County ISU Extension Office to discuss tips for starting a community garden
- Contacted the Dunlap Food Pantry to determine that they would be willing to take excess produce
- Submitted a report to the Girl Scout Council of Iowa for approval as a Silver Award Project
- Sought out an appropriate location for the garden that allowed for water access, proper sunlight and minimal vandalism
- Approached the Dunlap City Council and received permission to install the garden
- Initial fundraising (average cost of community garden start-up is $3,750-$7,500)
The steps that the Girl Scouts continue to take:
- Seeking volunteers to ensure that the garden is sustainable
- Seeking community members/groups to reserve plot space
- Installing the garden
- Coordinate children's programs twice per summer for at least two years after the start of the garden
Thank You to the Community Garden Sponsors
Bonsall TV & Appliance - Boyer Valley Girl Scout Troop 163 - Common Grounds - Custom Trends - Dunlap Community Bank - Dunlap Plumbing / Stinn's - Dunlap Public Library - Dunlap Livestock Auction - Gross and Co. - Hoffman Agency - Jim and Cindie Schaben - Kindness Grows - Malone Family (In Memory of Chet J. Fink) - Schaben from Scratch - Smitty's Grocery - The Hair Station - United Bank of Iowa - Wendt's Pots and Posies