Putnam to get new community garden

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- The Putnam neighborhood can expect a fresh, new addition this spring.

The Muskingum Soil and Water Conservation District is working on their ‘Urban Greens’ project. The project will bring a community garden to the historic Putnam area.

Jessica Stonecypher an Urban Agriculture Specialist with Muskingum Soil and Water Conservation District successfully petitioned to city council on Monday night to have a zoning fee waived. She said waiving this fee will help the project move along.

“It means that one big step, or one big hoop, has been jumped through and we can move forward with the city and actually presenting a plan to them,” said Stonecypher.

She said the fee would have been a set back for the project.

“The thing with city parks is that the state doesn’t allow in its zoning for gardens to be in parks, and so we had to go through a process to zone that properly and they waived the fee for us in order to do that,” said Stonecypher.

The garden’s will be available for area residents to grow their own produce, which Stonecypher said will help put food on the table for those facing financial struggles. She also hopes the garden will serve another purpose.

“[People] can grow their own food, they can spend time with one another. They can bring their kids to a park while they garden. It’s an important thing for our community to do; to rally around each other and to make our lives better together,” said Stonecypher.

The Muskingum Soil and Water Conservation District will also provide educational classes for gardening as well as serveral events throughout the summer.

They have a full list of their activities on their Facebook page: @urbangreensputnam.