Grant Application and Guidelines
Application Deadline ~ February 20, 2012
This application should be submitted to Michelle Wells at the NC Recreation & Park Association by 5pm on February 20, 2012. Please type your information in the form below, save the file to your system, and send as an email attachment to . You will receive confirmation of your application being received. Note: There are 2 additional attachments noted below that are required for your application to be considered complete.
Location/Agency
County: Cleveland
Park & Recreation Agency Name: Shelby Parks and Recreation Department
Director’s Name: Charlie Holtzclaw
Garden Manager who is responsible for reporting to Nourishing NC
Name: Kenneth Crews
Agency (if applicable): Shelby Parks and Recreation Department
Phone (include area code): 704-484-6824
Email:
Garden Information:
Name of Park where Nourishing NC Garden will be: Holly Oak Park
Street Address of Park: 809 Holly Oak Road
City: Shelby State: NC Zip: 28152
This garden location is on public land? Yes No If No, your garden is not eligible for funding.
If your garden will not be located on park property, please give name/location of requested site and a brief description of why it is not being located on park property:
Is this a new or existing garden? Existing
If existing, how long has it been a working garden? It is been a working garden for the past two years.
If this is a garden to be revived, how long has the garden been non-working?
Does this garden location have access to water? Yes No
Please tell us about the population this garden will serve. Does this garden target one or more of the potentially underserved/at-risk-populations? Holly Oak Park is adjacent to a low income and underserved neighborhood. The Holly Oak Recreation center offers a community center for kids and families from the surrounding community to participate in recreational activities.
Funding Needs:
What are the funding needs for this garden? Be specific with how the funding will be used:
Item / Amount of Funding RequestedTripod base sprinkler / 120.00
100' hose / 180.00
Hose accessories (4 way shutoff, grip nozzle, etc) / 50.00
Broadcast Spreader / 40.00
Storage Building 8X10 with shelving / 1,510.00
Wheel barrow / 70.00
2 Gallon Sprayer / 60.00
rakes, hoes, shovels, hand trowels, trench spades / 400.00
work gloves / 20.00
40# pulverized lime / 70.00
40# fertilizer and soil amendments / 250.00
Stakes / 50.00
Seeds and transplants / 100.00
Materials for raised bed construction / 80.00
Total amount of funding requested (max $3000): $3,000.00
Any comments regarding your funding request you would like to share?
The addition of a storage shed will greatly benefit the community garden. In the past, the garden manager has had to borrow tools from an inconvenient location.
Community Partners: List community partners and the role they will play in supporting the NNC garden. (Information will be verified with the contacts listed below)
Cooperative Extension Contact Name: Greg Traywick
Phone: 704-482-4365 Email:
What role will they play? NC Cooperative Extension will facilitate soil testing, oversee soil amendments, provide technical assistance on horticultural issues, and coordinate Master Gardener volunteer support.
Health Department Contact Name: Anne Short
Phone: 704-484-5112 Email:
What role will they play? The Alliance for Health will strengthen the garden's focus on health, nutrition, and physical activity through campaigns such as their Eat Smart, Move More Coalition.
Have you made contact with your local Master Gardeners? Yes No
If yes, please list the contact person: Blake Thaxton
Phone: 704-482-4365 Email:
What role will they play? Blake will contribte a wealth of horticultural knowledge to the project. He also has first hand experience working with community gardens and will offer assistance in the implementation of sustainable garden stystems.
Additional Community Partners:
Agency Name: Mental Health Association in Cleveland County (MHA)
Contact Name: Stacey Costner, Executive Director
Phone: 704-481-8637 Email:
What role will they play? Stacey will incorporate MHA's support group activities into the community garden space. She will also connect local mental health agencies with the community garden space for therapeutic use.
Agency Name: Foothills Farmer's Market
Contact Name: Chad Stout, Board Chair
Phone: 704-284-2239 Email:
What role will they play? The Foothills Farmers' Market will facilitate donation of food to organizations that feed the hungry through its Farmer Foodshare program and increase community awareness by sharing information & updates on the garden in its weekly customer newsletter.The Farmers Market will also contribute some starter plants at no cost through its Gardenshare Program.
Agency Name: Cleveland County Chapter of the NC Beekeeper Assocation
Contact Name: Steven Brown, President
Phone: 704-473-9599 Email:
What role will they play? Cleveland County Chapter of the NC Beekeepers Association will commit to sponsor an on-site demonstration hive and provide an experienced mentor to provide guidance on management and to supervise honey harvest. The need for pollination was identified as an important issue during the community garden's 2011 growing season.
Agency Name: Boys and Girls Club
Contact Name: Mary Pass
Phone: 704-482-3258 Email:
What role will they play? Mary will utilize the garden space as a destination for youth activites at the Boys and Girls Club.
Agency Name: Hoppers Chapel Missionary Baptist Church
Contact Name: Pastor Coleman
Phone: 704-487-0035 Email:
What role will they play? Hoppers Chapel is in the Holly Oak community and will offer volunteer and organzizational support to the community garden.
Agency Name: Cleveland County Food Bank
Contact Name: Johnny White
Phone: 704-284-2486 Email:
What role will they play? Johnny is a community activist who has spearheaded the Cleveland County Foodbank. This foodbank is unique in that it focuses on offering green, local, and fresh produce to those in need. Johnny will facilitate the distribution of food from the Holly Oak Community Garden to the foodbank as needed.
(If additional space is needed to list community partners, please check here and list on a separate page.
Submit this additional page as an attachment with your emailed application)
Produce Partner(s): The agency, organization, homeless shelter, food pantry, food rescue organization, etc. that our garden will donate at least 10% of our produce to:
Name of Agency/Group: Foothills Farmer's Market FoodShare Donation Program
Contact Person: Lori Wellmon
Address: 2070 Biggers Lake Road
City: Shelby State: NC Zip: 28150
Email: Phone: 704-482-9226
Name of Agency/Group: Cleveland County Foodbank
Contact Person: Johnny White
Address: 123 Hull Road
City: Casar State: NC Zip: 28020
Email: Phone: 704-284-2486
Name of Agency/Group: The Shepherd's Table
Contact Person: Lowrey Young
Address: 502 West Sumter Street
City: Shelby State: NC Zip: 28150
Email: Phone: 704-487-5404
Garden Team: Please list at least ten individuals who will have an active role in garden work and who make up the garden team; list their organizational affiliation if applicable and the role they will play.
1. Name: Wayne Merritt Organization (if applicable): Holly Oak Center Director
Their role: Worker, supporter and supervisor
2. Name: Shannon Garden Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Worker
3. Name: Marquise Crews Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Worker
4. Name: Hardin Davis Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Worker and supporter
5. Name: Robert Hillman Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Worker and supporter
6. Name: Ronald Tyndle Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Worker and Supporter
7. Name: Brian Cobb Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Worker and supporter
8. Name: Jimmy Huskey Organization (if applicable): Shelby Parks and Recreation
Their role: Worker
9. Name: Scott Davenport Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Worker and supporter
10. Name: Chris Camp Organization (if applicable):
Their role: Community donor
11. Name: Charles Camp
Their role: Donor
12. Name: Joe Broughter
Their role: Supporter and donor
13. Name: Terry Byrd
Their role: One on One supervisor that brings 4 workers to garden
14. Name: Staff - Shelby Parks and Recreation Department
Their role: To ensure the garden is constantly cared for, monitored and supervised; Providing labor as needed.
Narrative: For questions with character limits, MS Word can provide you this information by using the Word Count function
Please provide a brief narrative of your community garden project and needs: Include strategy and evidence that your approach can be effective in achieving the goals of the Nourishing NC project. You can find the goals online at www.ncrpa.net/NourishingNC
Max of 2000 characters including spaces:
Over the past two years the Holly Oak Community Garden has established itself as a centerpiece at the recreational park. Over twenty individuals have participated in the maintenance of the garden on a regular basis. The interaction between youth and elder members of the garden has been a particularly valuable component to the garden’s success. Underserved youth in the surrounding neighborhood are engaging with the wisdom of their elders as they learn where their food comes from.
Many of these youth previously had no idea that tomatoes grow on vines or that turnips go to seed in the winter. As they learn from their direct experience with the plants, they are empowered and encouraged to eat the vegetables they are growing. Gardening also offers these youth an opportunity for physical activity. Gardening is hard work!
In addition to encouraging a healthy lifestyle with the community’s youth, Holly Oak’s Community Garden also engages elders in the neighborhood. Many of these individuals grew up on farms or around gardens but have not had access to a garden in years. Their participation in the garden nourishes their physical health as they enjoy a bounty of fresh and nutritious vegetables. The community garden also fosters their mental health as they engage in gardening as a social experience.
With the support of these committed garden team members and staff at Holly Oak Park, a strategic planting of crops has been established at the garden. In the coming year, the garden team will focus on crops which have long harvest periods, such as squash, okra, tomatoes, cucumbers, and greens. The garden team will also incorporate succession plantings into the garden plan. These practices will ensure that maximum yields are grown and then donated back to the community. The Holly Oak garden team aspires to offer nourishment for both body and soul to as many individuals as possible.
How do you plan to create a garden that will have a long and vibrant role in the community? Max of 2000 characters including spaces
A number of community partners will be engaged in garden planning, construction and management, and will integrate the garden into their ongoing programs and activities. The garden will serve as a demonstration site for composting and beekeeping, facilitate mental health therapy, and foster positive inter-generational relationships. It will also allow low-income citizens to grow a portion of their own food. Surplus food will be channeled into existing donation programs that combat hunger and food insecurity in the local community. As a result of this collaboration, stakeholders will commit a wealth of resources to enhance and sustain the garden, including products and services, financial support, and volunteers. In addition, partnering organizations will ensure visibility of the project by including it in their community awareness and marketing and promotion efforts.
Does your agency have any other community gardens? If yes, tell us about the location of these gardens, the age of the gardens and who is utilizing them.
We do not have any other community gardens at this time.
Required Attachments: Send these two attachments with your application.
- In one document, include a visual representation of the garden: plot description, either a drawn site plan or photographs along with measurements and compass orientation (N/S/E/W).
- A written plan with timeline on the steps the team will take to implement their garden project
Fiscal Agent: Please list the name and address of the agency that should receive the funds and will be responsible for paying the bills
Agency Name: Shelby Parks & Recreation Department Contact: Charlie Holtzclaw
Address: PO Box 207
City: Shelby State: NC Zip: 28151
By submitting this application, we agree to adhere to the guidelines and requirements outlined in this application if selected and funded as a Nourishing NC garden. Typing your name below and submitting this application is equivalent to your electronic signature.
Park & Recreation Director: Charlie Holtzclaw
Garden Manager: Kenneth Crews
Nourishing North Carolina (NNC) Grant Application & Guidelines Page 5 of 7
January 2012