• Start a community garden, calling upon members of your faith community to tend it.
  • Establish clear volunteer expectations, procedures, schedules, etc.
  • Consider inviting others from the broader community to use the space as well.
    • Note that community gardens aren’t the right path for all faith communities. They are very labor intensive and require a significant commitment. There are also often many of them. If your community already has community garden spaces, or the commitment to a community garden feels like too much, check out other options below. 
• Does your place of worship have access to sunlight, water, and an acre or two? Partner with a local farmer in need of land.
  • Many young farmers struggle to make a living due to the cost of acquiring land. You can help! Be sure to ask questions about pesticide use as a part of your agreement. You can also ask if the farmer would be willing to donate a percentage of produce to congregation members or a local food bank/partner! 
• Do you have a lot of land? Or enough for some homes? Housing affordability/availability may be what your community needs.
  • Learn more from Neighbors for More Neighbors WNC and check out the BeLoved tiny house community at Land of the Sky UCC in Asheville, NC. 
• Implement a “Monarch Waystation” on your property.
• Set up a bird and pollinator-friendly garden on your property.
• Become a “Sacred Grounds” certified congregation through the National Wildlife Federation.
• Bring permaculture principles into your property (whether you help steward a garden, forest, or flowers, permaculture can help you tend land responsibly). 

General Information Related to this Strategy:

• 10 steps to starting a community garden
• How to create a pollinator garden
• 7 steps to create a permaculture garden
• Invite a permaculturist to your congregational land and receive tips from them for next steps
• Films:
  • Inhabit
• Sacred Grounds 

Available resources in Western North Carolina:

• Invasive species resources from MountainTrue
• Toxic Free NC
• Farmers of Color Network -RAFI
• Come to the Table -RAFI
• Resourceful Communities 
• Neighbors for More Neighbors WNC
• BeLoved Tiny House Village 

Local Faith Communities Currently Utilizing this Strategy:

• New Hope Presbyterian Church, Asheville, NC
  • Contact Nan Riley: revjohnanfnp@aol.com
• Holy Episcopal Church, Mars Hill, NC
• First Congregational United Church of Christ, Hendersonville, NC
• Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, Asheville, NC
• Congregation Beth HaTephila, Asheville, NC
• Kenilworth Presbyterian Church, Asheville, NC
• Mills River Presbyterian Church, Mills River, NC (Garden Rolling on Wheels)
• Haywood Street Congregation, Asheville, NC
• Grace Church in the Mountains, Waynesville, NC
• Church of the Transfiguration, Saluda, NC

• Remove invasive plant species from the property.
• Implement more water-efficient landscaping practices and/or landscapes with plants that require less water (perennial native plants, rain gardens, etc.)
• Avoid pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers.
• Recycle rainwater or greywater for use on the grounds.
• Grow native plants.
• Put up bird feeders and a bird bath on your congregational property.
• Put up birdhouses and bird feeders on your congregational grounds.
• Bats are pollinators! Install bat boxes on your property (or build them!)

General Information Related to this Strategy:

• Natural pest control solutions
• Rainwater Harvesting 101
• Organic lawn care resources

Available Resources in Western North Carolina:

• Invasive species resources from MountainTrue
• Toxic Free NC

Local Faith Communities Currently Utilizing this Strategy:

• High Country United Church of Christ, Vilas, NC (chemical-free lawn care and pest control)
  • Contact Rev. Tamara Franks: pastor@highcountryucc.org

• Map the vegetation: identify tree types, native and invasive species, plant and flower names, consumable growth, etc.
  • You can make this fun through our Neighborhood Natives Scavenger Hunt (great for a small family activity or a congregational project happening on church land).
• Map the other features of your property, such as parking lots, playgrounds, sidewalks, green space, etc., and consider how each might touch the community or serve as an asset in different ways.
• Read about the history of your property and have conversations about what it was, what it is, and what you hope it to be in the future.