Deep Ellum Community Association Needs Some Seed Money to Plant an Urban Garden

What you see at right is the urban garden the Deep Ellum Community Association would like to plant on this lot at Canton and Good-Latimer. The idea isn't new: In December 2009 we wrote about DECA's attempt to green up Deep Ellum, and initially they'd looked at planting on the...

By Robert Wilonsky

October 10, 2011

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18855504",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17105533",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105532",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105535",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

What you see at right is the urban garden the Deep Ellum Community Association would like to plant on this lot at Canton and Good-Latimer. The idea isn't new: In December 2009 we wrote about DECA's attempt to green up Deep Ellum, and initially they'd looked at planting on the site of the old Rock on Main Street. But the concept has grown significantly since then; hence the new site, for which organizers, led by Kelly Clemons, say they've got the permits and plans.

What they don't have is the money -- $25,000, to be precise, for everything from benches to sinks, lockers to lights. Which is why they've launched a group-funding effort via CrowdTilt, which is more or less like Kickstarter (complete with items offered at various levels of giving -- as in, $100 gets you a Deep Ellum Urban Gardens logo long sleeve shirt or hoodie, while $150 also snags an invite to a VIP dinner). Fund-raising efforts kicked off a few days ago, and already they're up to $1,190 with October 31 set as the deadline.

KEEP THE OBSERVER FREE... Since we started the Dallas Observer, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.