Denver Urban Gardens (DUG)

About

DUG's community garden network and food forests are places where food can be grown alongside the cultivation of community and climate resiliency.

Categories Program Adults Children & Youth Older Adults Therapeutic

Program Details

Denver Urban Garden's mission is to provide access, skills, and resources for people to grow healthy food within their community and regenerate urban green spaces.

Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) started as a grassroots movement in the late 1970s. DUG was formally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in 1985 to support Denver residents in creating sustainable, food-producing neighborhood community gardens. Over the past 35+ years, our network of community gardens has expanded across six metro Denver counties. We currently oversee 200 community gardens, which includes 66 school-based gardens, and 20 food forests.

In addition to our gardens, DUG programs provide access, skills, and resources to help people grow food in their communities and regenerate urban green spaces. We offer youth programs, skill-building workshops for adults, community-centered events, volunteer workdays, free and reduced-cost seeds and seedlings, therapeutic gardens, and compost training.

Populations Served
DUG's gardens and food forests serve over 20,000 people. There are over 40 languages spoken in the gardens in support of our diverse demographics. About 1/3 of DUG’s community gardens are in low-income, low-access areas of the Denver Metro area.

Contact Lara Fahnestock, DUG, Director Therapeutic Garden Initiative lara@dug.org https://dug.org/

Services Offered

Community garden plots
Garden leadership training and support
Landowner use agreements
Garden education for youth and adults
Therapeutic gardens with socio-emotional learning opportunities
Garden team building workdays
“Pay what you can” seeds and seedlings
Composting education
Food forest planning and building

Staff Composition
22 full-time staff members and 4 seasonal support staff

Cost to Participate
The education classes, seeds and seedling, and community garden plot fees are available as a “pay what you can” model

The gated entrance to DUG’s community garden. A canopy of green leaves hangs above the gate like an awning.

Concrete garden plots are full of various heights of green plants, some with red and others with yellow flowers. The city skyline can be seen in the background.

A group of older adult gardeners gather at a table in the background. In front of them is a fence with a sign that says, “Bees at Work”.

An adult wearing a red and pink patterned dress helps a young child water a row of colorful flowers and vegetables inside the garden.

A raised garden bed made of wood located inside a community garden, with a blue sky in the background. Painted flower tiles decorate the base of the bed.

Purple flowers bloom from a vibrant green bush. Feathery white plants are among the purple flowers, enhancing the sensory experience.

Related Articles and Studies

Effects of a community gardening intervention on diet, physical activity, and anthropometry outcomes in the USA (CAPS): an observer-blind, randomised controlled trial

A large group of participants express their excitement at the start of a backpacking trip. Trees and distant mountains fill the horizon behind them.

Program

Wild Hearts Idaho

Wild Hearts Idaho is a non-profit that builds community, confidence, and leadership skills for middle and high school girls through free outdoor adventures.

A close-up shot of Dan riding his trike with a confident grin.

Program

Spokes Fighting Strokes

Spokes Fighting Strokes (Spokes) introduces recovery through exercise and fun by providing recumbent trikes to stroke survivors, amputees, able-bodied humans, and those with or who have had traumatic brain injury (TBI), neck and back injury, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis (MS), and cerebral palsy (CP).

An aerial image of the playground showing play equipment, gathering spaces, and a painted ground mural looping around the playground.

Place

Louis H. Farrell Elementary School

This project was designed to advance literacy and learning goals while promoting playful learning in public schoolyards. Key features include a Gateway Plaza, a Literacy Art Loop, an Outdoor Classroom & Performance Space, separate play areas for older and younger children, and a Native Pollinator Meadow & Nature Discovery Trail.