Unity Garden at the Chattahoochee Nature Center

Roswell Rotary and the Roswell Rotary After Hours Club chose the Unity Garden at the Chattahoochee Nature Center to support with both a District Grant and volunteer efforts in the garden.

Twelve years ago, the CNC established the Unity Garden with three goals: Production, Donation and Education. The Unity Garden produces 8 to 10 tons of fresh produce each year for donation to those in need. All the food raised is donated to the food pantry at North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC). This is wholesome, fresh produce, not the type received from local supermarkets which may be within a day or two of their expiration dates. NFCC serves about 770 families each week and filled 40,000 food orders last year.

With year-round production, the beds have to be changed out often. This occurs 5 to 10 times per year based on the type of produce being grown. These major transitions are handled by volunteer corporate and civic groups. The Roswell Rotary After Hours Club will provide volunteers for this type transition planting.

Roswell Rotary's District Grant of $1,750 this year went to purchase seeds and replacement for 12 year old tools for the Unity Garden.

On July 19th, Henning von Schmelling, Senior Director of Operations at CNC, spoke to the regular meeting of the After Hours club. On July 28th, Henning led club members on a late afternoon tour of the garden.

When DG George came for his official visit to Roswell Rotary in October, we spent a beautiful fall afternoon touring the garden and other Nature Center features.