How Does the Refugee Garden Grow?

LOCALLY SOURCED

A Conversaton with Dave Jordan

Rona Jordan brought her love and expertise in gardening to the Wheaton Square Apartments. Her husband, Dave, talks about this special garden project.

“We are friends with some refugees from the apartments through a group I play soccer with,” explains Dave. “Last year, a friend who lives there showed Rona and me the garden at Highpoint Church’s Wheaton campus (formerly First Baptist of Wheaton).” The church has had a relationship with the refugee community for many years.

When Rona saw the garden, she knew it needed work. “She contacted Highpoint and offered to help. The pastor told her the person at the church who oversaw the garden had moved, and my wife ended up tasked with preparing the garden for this year's growing season,” Dave said.

But Rona didn’t go it alone. “Sasha Brady, who worked for former College Church pastor, Todd Augustine and now works for World Relief, attends Highpoint Church and became our main contact and a good friend,” Dave recalls. Rona and Dave’s kids helped as did volunteers from Highpoint and one of Dave’s refugee friends pitched in. Rona also had help from friends from a community garden she frequents.

“From College Church, we had help from my parents, Jim and Diane Jordan, Nate Peterson, his son Joel and Pastor Curt Miller. Tyndale House donated cardboard boxes and wooden pallets. Both the City of Wheaton’s forestry division and D Ryan Tree & Landscape LLC donated wood chips, and Highpoint Church purchased a large load of leaf mulch/ compost,” Dave said.

There are 65 garden plots, roughly 8"x8", at the back of Highpoint’s parking lot. The team first cleaned up the area for the plots and then made paths between each bed using wood chips, and cardboard underneath to act as a weed barrier. “We mixed leaf mulch into each bed and roto-tilled them,” Dave continues. “We used parts of the pallets to make a small retaining wall on the north side since heavy rains tend to wash parts of beds into the parking lot there.” So far, the volunteers have worked seven to eight full weekends and counting.

“The overall goal is to provide a garden bed to any refugee family at the Wheaton Square Apartments who wants one,” Dave says. “A couple weeks ago, we assigned individual beds to more than 40 families. Rona provided some seeds to each family from her own supply and from her community garden friends.” The refugees are beginning to plant and tend their own beds.

A few projects remain. The retaining wall needs to be finished, and the heavy rains in May created the need to address the run-off on the east side of the beds. “Rona would like to build a compost bin from the remaining pallets, and she may plant some crops in the unassigned beds for Highpoint Church to use to supplement their Sunday food donations,” Dave summed up.

“To be honest, I don't even like gardening,” Dave confesses. “It never would have occurred to me to take this on. My soccer friends and I have befriended many young refugee men, and we invite them to our homes, but this garden—Rona is the primary driver of the whole thing. She has a real heart to help refugees because of her own difficult upbringing and the challenges she faced when she came to the U.S. at age 16. Even though I'm not fond of gardening, I have enjoyed helping others, and it is good exercise.”