The Deedee Daniel Opportunity Fund, a fund of the Hendricks County Community Foundation (HCCF) awarded a $3,300 community project grant to the Hendricks County Master Gardeners to begin work on a Demonstration Garden at the Hendricks County 4-H Fairgrounds and Conference Complex.
An active partner of the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, the Master Gardener Program is a volunteer-based program that is designed to teach local residents about growing plants and offer technical assistance about gardening and home horticulture.
The Demonstration Garden Project will be in progress over several years and will be an exciting tool to help educate the community in planting home gardens, creating landscape design, and appreciating native pollinators. Becky Troutman, President of Hendricks County Masters Gardeners commented, “The Masters Gardeners were notified in July of a grant awarded to our group by the Hendricks County Community Foundation. HCCF’s enthusiasm for our plans for a Demonstration Garden allowed us to finally start our project after months of planning. We are grateful and honored that HCCF understood and wanted to support our vision of ‘Teaching Others to Grow.'”
This grant will help provide materials for garden development and maintenance for an Entrance Garden, a Raised Bed Garden, and a Pollinator-Friendly Garden. Master Gardeners encourage the public to visit the fairgrounds year-round and learn from their progress within the gardens. Visitors are also encouraged to attend meetings and events provided by the Masters Gardens during the 2018 Indiana State Masters Gardeners Conference.
Kim and Steve Somermeyer, leaders of the Demonstration Garden Team commented, “This grant was critical to the success of our Demonstration Garden. It has allowed us to put these gardens and signage in place to educate attendees at the Hendricks County Fair, and greatly expand our garden areas. Thank you HCCF!”
The Deedee Daniel Opportunity Fund is HCCF’s largest unrestricted fund which is dedicated to supporting community projects and programs in all service areas. HCCF’s President and CEO commented on the impact of these unrestricted funds, “Community project grants like this one support one-time projects in Hendricks County that enhance and improve parks, public art and historic preservation for the betterment of all in our community. We are grateful to our generous donors who give to our unrestricted funds and enable us flexibility in improving the quality of life in Hendricks County.”
