Prairiewoods values its collaborative partnerships with other nonprofits, churches and civic organizations, and local city and county governmental offices. One such partnership has brought us much joy and bountiful harvests in the last few years!
Four years ago, when Pope Francis’ eco-encyclical Laudato Si’ was published, we invited Earth-loving friends to come to Prairiewoods to discuss ways we might engage with the Pope’s challenge to care for our common home.
Fred Meyer and Jen Kardos from Backyard Abundance, a nonprofit based in Iowa City, came that night. From that introduction flowered an excellent collaborative relationship that led Prairiewoods to venture into permaculture practices and edible landscaping—most notably the Garden of Eat’n surrounding the Center at Prairiewoods. Jen and Fred designed the Garden of Eat’n, which has been a labor of love they’ve shared with Prairiewoods Ecospirituality Coordinator Emelia Sautter, volunteer Rose Blank and countless other helpers.
The Garden of Eat’n is beautiful, educational, edible landscaping that surrounds the Center. It includes rhubarb and bush cherries, creeping thyme and oregano, chives and wild ginger. Everything is labeled, including signs that tell you what is ripe and ready to be eaten. So bring the kids and a reusable bag and have fun picking, learning and munching as you walk! Eat some now and take some home for this week’s meals or to be ground up for teas or healing tinctures. All the while, you’ll be learning about where food comes from and how you can turn your own lawn into a beautiful, edible learning space.
(And as you know, gardening is labor intensive. If you’d like to spend time outside tending our Garden of Eat’n or one of the other green spaces at Prairiewoods, just let us know. We’d love to have your help!)
—Andi Lewis, Prairiewoods marketing coordinator