This letter was sent to the Jackson Park P-Patch Community Garden P-Patchers thanking them for embracing and engaging with fellow gardeners with intellectual disabilities. It’s a great example of how community gardens are about neighbors connecting and engaging with each other to build community.

A thank-you to all of the gardeners at the Jackson Park P-Patch from raised bed number1 (nearest the shed). As many of you may know, raised bed #1 is tended by L. Turner Associates staff members and the older adults with intellectual disabilities we serve. We would like to thank all of the gardeners for making us feel at home at the garden. The older adults who have life-long disabilities love our raised bed and the food it produces. With 1-1 help from our staff these older adults enjoy planting, watering, and eating the fruit and veggies we grow. The most fun we have is just enjoying the gardens, watching others garden, and every time a gardener stops to say “hi,” waves hello, or gives us a smile, it makes our day. You see, our goal is to help people with intellectual disabilities participate in the community in which they live. We use gardening as a way to integrate our program participants into the life of their neighborhood. So, your neighbors thank all of the Jackson Park P-Patch gardeners for being such good neighbors.

Lisa Turner
L.Turner Associates, Inc.