Photo: Margaret Wachholz
In its fourth year, the popular Community Garden, created by Woodbury Thrives (part of the Woodbury Community Foundation [WCF]) in partnership with the City of Woodbury, has increased the number of plots to 96. The garden has plots for residents and community organizations to grow flowers and food in the summer.
Many helpers brought this project to fruition, but Ed Wyatt played a major role. Wyatt, a retired Exxon Mobil sales executive, is a key figure in the community garden’s success, and he and his wife, Vicky, are both UMN Extension Master Gardeners.
When the idea of the garden came up in 2022, a committee of six visited every community garden in the Metro to discover what worked and what didn’t. The city donated 5 acres on Dale Road for the project.
This year, 35 raised beds for those with mobility issues were added. Wyatt built the raised bed panels in his garage, and they were later assembled at the garden. Six wheelchair accessible plots were built too. “Creating new gardens gives a true sense of community. It has been the most fulfilling project I’ve done,” Wyatt says. “The ADA-compliant wheelchair accessible and senior raised beds are the only combination in the state of Minnesota. We’ve even been getting requests for design and collaboration.”
Manali Shah is a board member of the WCF and has been volunteering in Woodbury and Washington County for over 20 years. Find more at woodburyfoundation.org.
