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Austintown locals push to build community garden for students
AUSTINTOWN
Two groups of Austintown residents want to bring life to some of the school district’s vacant properties by creating a community garden on them to benefit students in the school district.
The district owns vacant properties from schools that have been torn down the past decade. Residents presented the idea at the district’s board of education meeting Sept. 16, suggesting they partner with the schools.
Austintown Superintendent Vincent Colaluca said he thinks the community garden could be a possibility for either the Woodridge school lot, which has been vacant for about 10 years, or the Woodside school lot, which has been vacant since summer.
Christina Farr, Austintown Fitch High School cheerleading coach, was in one of two groups to present the idea to the board of education. She said she and her husband, Paul, are “passionate about resources.”
“We both looked at the school’s vacant properties and felt that our school system could give back to community members,” Christina Farr said.
Farr said her vision for the project would be to create a place to educate students about gardening with help from community members. She said she wants to start the project small and build onto it with time.
“If you go in too big, you’re less likely to get support,” she said.
Dale Basista, 57, of Austintown also spoke to the board of education about turning the school’s vacant properties into garden areas for students and community members. Basista handed the board of education blueprints of a “prototype garden” he would like to see built on old school properties.
“I think it’s a good thing there were two of us,” Basista said. “It goes to show that people are interested in building this for Austintown.”
Colaluca said it was “ironic” that two groups of people presented the idea at the district’s September meeting. He said he cannot recall the schools ever featuring a community garden.
Colaluca said school administrators seem to all be in support of a garden project.
“We just have to make sure if we do this, it’s done correct and keeps an Austintown focus,” he said. “And we want to focus on having it for our kids and getting kids involved in the garden.”
Colaluca said the district would probably try to get grant money to fund the garden. He said he estimated the garden could be planted in early spring.