Cedar Ridge to Get Community Garden

Residents of Reston's will soon have a community garden in which to grow their own produce.

The Board of Directors voted at its meeting on Thursday to install a 30' by 30' garden plot on on RA's common area between and Cedar Ridge.

RA will work with , Friends of Reston and Sustainable Reston to get the garden up and running for residents of Cedar Ridge, a low-income housing complex. Many Cedar Ridge residents are Reston Interfaith clients.

Installation of the plot will cost $5,770, says Larry Butler, RA's Director of Parks and Recreation. Friends of Reston will contribute $2,000 and RA will pay for the rest, he said. 

The plot was previously approved by RA's Design Review Board in March. There are existing water lines to the plot area, as there was a previous garden there about 15 years ago, Butler said.

Diane Blust, President of Sustainable Reston, said she is excited to get started on a project that will benefit Cedar Ridge residents and promote community sustainability.

“This is a way to show  you really care about everyone in the community," she said. "And the access to fresh, local food, this would be a way to give back to the whole Cedar Ridge community.”

Several Cedar Ridge residents attended the RA meeting and invited board members to visit - and eat from - the garden.

The garden will operate under a one-year garden plot license. If successful, it could expand in the future. Meanwhile, RA members on the waiting list for garden plots at existing community gardens at Lake Anne, Hunters Woods and Golf Course Island, say they are OK with waiting until there is an opening at one of those sites, Butler said.