By Nicholas Leete and Nou Thao
Rooted WI

Every year Rooted WI and UW-Madison Division of Extension host a Community Garden Summit, an opportunity for community members to get together, share their gardening wisdom, strengthen relationships and celebrate the community.

This year’s Community Garden Summit will be held Thursday, June 15, through Saturday, June 17. The summit will be at a different community garden each day, with the Saturday sessions held from 8:30 am–1 pm at Troy Gardens and Farm, 502 Troy Drive.

The event will include tours of the community gardens and different farm projects at the site, roundtable discussions, and workshops on school gardens, medicinal herbs and garden pests. The summit will also include a lineup of food demonstrations and children’s gardening activities. Northside residents can find more information and register for the Garden Summit at danegardens.net/conference.

The Garden Summit will be one of many events happening at Troy Gardens and Farm this year, and just one of the ways Northside residents can get involved with the site. The garden, farm and wild areas are open to the public year-round, Troy Kid’s Garden hosts tours during the summer, and households can sign up for a garden plot at the Troy Community Garden at rootedwi.org/gardening/troy-community-gardens.

If you are looking to get your hands dirty, Rooted has many volunteer opportunities available. Folks who are interested in volunteering on a regular basis in exchange for produce can help out at Troy Farm each week over the 20-week season as a worker share volunteer. For worker share opportunities, visit rootedwi.org/farms/worker-share-volunteers. To sign up for general volunteer opportunities, visit rootedwi.org/engage-with-us/volunteer.