American Library Association grant to improve access to Walkerton library's Unity Garden
WALKERTON — Visiting the Walkerton-Lincoln Township Public Library and its Unity Garden will become easier with a $10,000 grant awarded to the library to improve public access to the facilities.
The library is one of 240 libraries awarded grants by the American Library Association's "Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities" initiative. This competitive grant system offers help and money so small and rural libraries can better serve people with disabilities. Eligibility is limited to communities with populations of less than 25,000 and that are located at least five miles from an urbanized area.
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Jennifer Cygert, library director, said the money will be used to offer people better access to the Unity Garden and the library.
Plans are to put sidewalks around the eight raised beds and to run a sidewalk toward the back of the property for a 10 foot-by-10-foot concrete pad. Cygert said plans are to place a shed there for storage of the garden equipment that currently is being stored in the library.
The work will take place this summer, but, Cygert said, the timetable is not exactly known.
"We serve the special education programs here," Cygert said of the gardens. She also said there is a senior citizen gathering session on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the better walkways will make it easier for them to navigate in the garden area.
This year will be the second one for the Walkerton Unity Garden. The existing four beds are being expanded to eight, and, Cygert said, one of the beds will be made up of "themed" plantings.
This year, the theme is "Pizza."
"Last year, we had the Three Sisters theme, but this year it's Pizza!" Cygert said. "Things like tomatoes and herbs. Someone said we may even place a packet of pepperoni in there."
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Cygert said the initial scope of the grant could allow crews to level out the ground and sidewalks around the Unity Garden beds to allow the free healthy foods grown in the garden to be shared and make it more accessible for the entire community.
The garden is expected to continue to grow in scope and in the number of plantings. Cygert said future plans are for Unity Gardens officials to assist in getting vine plants and possibly fruit trees for the site.
The library also expects to apply for another grant in 2024. Cygert said the library hopes to continue to improve the garden for better use by the community.
Meanwhile, the Walkerton Unity Garden is having a Picnic & Plant session from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the garden for people to help plant this year's garden vegetables. The group will offer participants a hotdog, chips and a drink and will encourage adults and children to take part in planting the beds.
Email Tribune staff writer Greg Swiercz at gswiercz@sbtinfo.com.
ALA Library grant recipients
The following nearby libraries received grants as part of the American Library Association's "Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities" initiative:
Indiana
Argos Public Library (Argos)
Pulaski County Public Library (Winamac)
Walkerton-Lincoln Township Public Library (Walkerton)
Michigan
Marcellus Township Wood Memorial Library (Marcellus)
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Walkerton gets grant to improve assess to Unity Garden
