In a project for the Environmental Center Leadership Program, Laurel Dalton investigates the importance of community gardens, the issues they often face, and some possible solutions which were utilized for the benefit of the Arlington Community Garden at the Tree Hill Nature Center. Community gardens are a valuable resource to build community, allow participants to connect to nature, and help alleviate food insecurity. The foremost issues for the sustainability of community gardens are the lack of a sufficient, continuous workforce of paid workers and volunteers, and a lack of funding. To alleviate this issue for the Arlington Community Garden, extra activities were arranged to promote greater excitement for the garden, and flyers were created to be distributed around the community to increase awareness of the garden and attract more volunteers. Additionally, a list of possible grant sources was also compiled for the garden to utilize as needed in the future. Along with students from Jacksonville University, and the new volunteers enlisted, a greater amount of planting was made possible, allowing more food to be grown for the food pantry at Arlington Community Services, which helps mitigate food insecurity in the area
