Cape Coral's three Rotary groups have designs on a community garden.
Community gardens are not new to Lee County, with 12 similar community projects, but it is the first community garden of its kind in Cape Coral.
Fruits, vegetables and flowers will grow in the sunny lot next to City Hall, the 8-foot by 4-foot beds filled with nutrient-rich soil for those interested in tending 54 small crops for an annual fee, estimated about $100.
That the three clubs support the City of Cape Coral Parks and Recreation/ Rotary Community Garden is no surprise to the members.
"We all come from the same mentality," Cape Coral Sunset Club's Don Vasbinder said. "We help the community and help with world issues. We are all one people under a common cause."
The gardens are expected to be ready within the next month, and the interest is so high, city officials expect to have a lottery for those interested in renting them.
Hurricane Irma delayed the project — it tossed a Bobcat on the treated lumber, ripped up nearby trees and forced volunteers to focus on other projects — by months.
The garden includes running water and lights, as well as a planned 20-foot by 20-foot covered pavilion, on slightly less than an acre. Gardening demonstrations also will be held at the pavilion.
There are seven raised beds for those who are disabled or have problems kneeling.
"Everywhere you look it’s giving back to the community, which is what it should be," said longtime Rotarian and volunteer Elmer Tabor.
Those renting the boxes will donate 20 percent of their produce to the Cape Coral Caring Center, a food bank and referral service. And Pop's Cafe at City Hall, operated by special populations, will have beds to raise fresh produce and flowers.
"When we first heard about this, it was so exciting," said Julie Ferguson, the center's executive director. "While we're able to get fresh produce, we can never get enough."
She said the center gives food to all income-qualified people who need it, not turning anyone away. Most of their clients have a sudden serious illness or a sudden job loss.
The center accepts produce from other benefactors, including those who have fruit trees. Ferguson said studies show that the poor will not use "their meager incomes to buy things like fresh products," but if given to them, they will eat them.
"We give generously," she said. "People will eat it and will use it and be healthier because of it."
With the boxes available at the start of Florida's summer, Tabor said there are plants that thrive in the heat, such as sweet potatoes, okra and gladiolus.
He said the flowers could be sold to support Pop's Cafe.
The design is laid out in the shape of the Rotary logo, a wheel.
A $1,000 Feed the Bee grant from the Baer Foundation will support a planter to attract bees at its center. The raised beds for people with physical disabilities will surround that, with other spokes emanating from them.
The Cape Coral Sunset Club, with President Phil Arnold and President-elect Vasbinder; the Rotary Club of Cape Coral President Erik Elsea; and The Gulf Coast Club with President Phil Deems have helped coordinate the work.
The clubs presidents say the project truly involved the community, with funds coming from grants and the clubs, as well as donated materials from Home Depot.
The property is adjacent to a burrowing owl nest, which remained untouched.
The clubs are best known for operating Rotary Park on the city's west side. The 100-acre environmental park has a butterfly house and dog park, the first in Cape Coral.
"We’re ones that did first dog park, which is grossly overused and we desperately need another one," Tabor said.
He said Cape Rotarians are known for their innovation and hope that other groups follow their lead on creating other community gardens.
"We’ll build the first one and prove to citizens how badly we need it and let them pick up the next one," he said of dog parks and gardens. "As big as Cape Coral is, we’ll end up with 10 community gardens and/or dog parks."
To grow
What: The three Cape Coral Rotary clubs combined with the city to create the Cape Coral Parks & Recreation/Rotary Community Garden with raised beds the community members can rent to grow produce
Where: Adjacent to City Hall, 1015 Cultural Park Blvd., Cape Coral.
When: Expected to open within the month
Information: Cape Coral Parks and Recreation, 239-573-3128
By the Numbers
The Cape Coral Parks & Recreation/Rotary Community Garden includes:
1 acre plot next to City Hall
3 Cape Coral Rotary clubs working as one
7 raised beds for people with disabilities
20 percent of the plantings donate to Cape Coral Caring Center
54 8-foot by 4-foot raised beds for rent
70,000+ dollars to build, in cash and in-kind donations