Friends of Burlington Gardens has received a $10,000 award from the Vermont Community Foundation's Successful Communities grant round to support the development of new community gardens in Vermont towns and cities that currently lack community garden sites.

Friends of Burlington Gardens will offer technical assistance and $5,000 in mini-grants to establish ten allotment style community garden sites that provide vegetable garden plots for Vermonters. Mini-grant funding will support new community garden sites opening spring 2009.

For the fall 2008 mini-grant cycle, six programs have been awarded $500 mini-grants. The recipients are: Morgan Spring Community Garden (Bennington),  Mcrae Farm Community Garden (Colchester), Huntington Community Garden,  Newport Community Garden, St. Albans Community Garden, and Vergennes Community Garden.

Please note: Funding is currently available to award four additional $500 mini-grants accompanied with free technical assistance. The four mini-grants will be awarded on a rolling basis as applications are received. Please see instructions below for obtaining a mini-grant application form:
Step One:  Form a community garden steering committee in your Vermont town or city. The steering committee must include at least three unrelated Vermonters filling the leadership roles of chairperson, secretary, and treasurer. For sustainability, at least two committee leaders must be interested in having a plot in a new community garden.

Step Two: Contact Jim Flint, executive director of Friends of Burlington Gardens via email or by phone (802-861-4769) to indicate your group's interest in starting a new community garden in your Vermont city or town. If your proposed community garden meets eligibility criteria, a mini-grant application will be e-mailed to your steering committee chairperson.