November 11, 2019


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The Big Garden is pleased to welcome Molly Baurain as its Kansas Coordinator. This is a new, full-time position that will expand and support The Big Garden’s programs and services in Kansas. Molly will engage with 20+ community gardens, including those started through the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund's Healthy Congregations Program. She will also recruit and support new church gardens in Kansas. This position will be based out of the United Methodist Church in Stilwell, south of Kansas City.  

The Big Garden’s parent organization was founded in Omaha in 1966 as United Methodist Metropolitan Ministries. Though based in Omaha, The Big Garden, as it is now known, currently offers gardens & programming across the Great Plains Annual Conference. The first Kansas Big Garden sites were built in 2010. Up to now, The Big Garden has been able to offer little program support to its Kansas gardens. Molly will lend her experience and expertise to support these gardens.

Having grown up in Iowa and Missouri, Molly moved to Kansas City in 2007. Molly has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Drury University and over 30 credits toward a Master’s of Science in Horticulture with an emphasis in Urban Food Systems from Kansas State University. Molly has 10+ years of horticulture experience including her time as the program manager for a refugee farming program in Kansas City called JVS Global Gardens. Molly also worked for University of Missouri Extension for 7 years as a Horticulture Educator and helped manage the Master Gardeners of Greater Kansas City program and a nutrition and gardening program for youth called “Eating from the Garden.”

Molly and her husband Tom live on a 3.5 acre “dream” homestead with their 1 year-old child and black Labrador dog. They currently have a big vegetable garden and hope to get chickens, bees, and goats in the future.

You can reach Molly at mbaurain@BigGarden.org or (913) 897-2418.

November 1, 2019


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This fall, The Big Garden welcomed Alajia McKizia to its full-time staff as an Education Coordinator. Alajia began as a summer intern in 2018 and has been teaching part-time in The Big Garden’s education programs since then. She teaches at roughly 10 sites during the school year, and additional sites during the summer.

Alajia first found interest in urban agriculture by feeling unsettled in not knowing where her food was coming from, working in communities with little access to food, and moving from apartment to apartment with no space to grow food. She stopped eating meat in 2015. Her first gardening experience was as a New Roots summer intern at The Big Garden. She is interested in herbalism and is currently offering an herbal CSA with a friend focused on the non-extractive, mutual exchange between plants and humans.

The Big Garden was founded in 2005 under the umbrella of United Methodist Ministries. The Big Garden offers education around gardening and food security and has built 170+ gardens in Nebraska, Kansas, and Southwest Iowa. The Big Garden currently partners with more than 50 local schools, childcare centers, nonprofits, and faith communities to teach people of all ages how to grow, cook, and preserve garden-fresh produce. 

Alajia’s favorite part of working at The Big Garden is being in North Omaha and helping to uplift people of all ages through food. She especially likes giving kids opportunity and access to connect with plants and the soil. She sees food as a way to connect people. Alajia recently attended the Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference, which inspired her to somehow help make land more accessible to black and brown aspiring farmers in Nebraska, and to help build a community regionally with other BIPOC farmers and urban ag community members.  

Alajia has worked locally as an artist, dancer, and community advocate through projects, art shows, and events. She loves all forms of art, cooking, reading, and event planning, and dance parties with friends and families.

You can reach Alajia at amckizia@BigGarden.org.

 

October 1, 2019

Introducing Omaha's first annual Seed School, taught by local seed savers trained at the Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance Seed School!

This is a 2-day intensive course for gardeners, farmers, seed savers, and seed stewards. Topics will include history, importance, planning for seed saving, and isolation techniques. You will leave this fun, hands-on training with knowledge + practical seed saving skills. If you are interested in growing local foods, sustainability, and climate change resiliency this workshop is for you! Join us as we continue to build a network of seed savers committed to preserving biodiversity.

This training is free, but space is limited.
Register at GrowingGardeners.org before October 18th.

Please note that Saturday will be held at City Sprouts and Sunday will be held at The Big Garden.

August 28, 2019


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It is with a mix of sadness and gratitude that we announce the departure of Cait Caughey from the role of Education Director at The Big Garden beginning September 13th. Cait started at The Big Garden as a summer intern in 2009, joining our full-time staff in 2013. 

Cait’s visionary leadership has left an indelible imprint on The Big Garden as an organization and on her colleagues as individuals. She has expanded her colleagues’ understanding of local food systems and how to grow food in a sustainable manner. Her work has been marked by professionalism and a strong spirit of community collaboration. She has been an invaluable asset to our organization, researching and shaping our educational programming from the ground up. Some of Cait’s accomplishments at The Big Garden include: 

  • Expanding our education staff from 1 to 6 full-time positions

  • Developing our summer internship program which has trained more than 30 young adults in urban agriculture skills

  • Creating our summer Grow-Your-Own program which now reaches an average of 800 children weekly

  • Researching & writing our comprehensive 10-week Grow-Your-Own curriculum

  • Facilitating relationships with schools & nonprofits that directly led to the building of nearly 50 gardens

  • Creating & implementing our Farm to School program across 15 Omaha schools

  • Creating & implementing our Garden to Table program at 8 Omaha schools

  • Developing & leading the Farmers Market Tours in collaboration with Cooking Matters

  • Developing our greenhouse production and Plant Sale

  • Creating the Growing Gardeners Workshop Series and Urban Ag School in partnership with City Sprouts

  • Facilitating the transition to our urban campus location

  • Fostering relationships with countless local farmers & food producers

  • Standardizing sustainable organization-wide growing practices

  • Cultivating an appreciation for prairies and pollinators

  • Embodying a workplace culture of respect, justice, and equity

Beyond The Big Garden, Cait has worked with countless organizations and individuals to advance the Omaha-metro’s understanding of local food systems and resilience. Cait will be greatly missed, and we wish her the best. We thank her for her service & commitment.

From Cait Caughey, Director of Education at The Big Garden:
I want to thank all of my garden class students, every person who attended workshops, and every teacher, farmer, or community member I had the privilege to work with through The Big Garden. I am deeply grateful for every single thing and have learned so much from you all! I plan to continue tending the soil, loving the prairie, growing food with others, and engaging in community education. My hope is that we will continue the critical work of restoring biodiversity and regenerating our soils and waters during this time when all species are faced with the unraveling of the climate crisis. 

From Nathan Morgan, Executive Director of The Big Garden:
Cait’s passion for teaching children and youth about gardening has been reflected in the good work she has done at The Big Garden. She understands that growing food is a tangible way that we can address poverty, inequality, and climate change. She has shared that passion and understanding with all of us here at The Big Garden and with thousands of children and youth across our community. I am deeply grateful for her work here and look forward to finding out what comes next for her.

For questions regarding programming, please contact Nathan Morgan at nmorgan@BigGarden.org.

 February 1, 2019


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The Big Garden has been selected as Urban Abbey’s community partner for the month of March. Located in Omaha’s Old Market, Urban Abbey is a non-profit coffee shop and worship community founded by United Methodists. Through its community partnerships, Urban Abbey hosts events and donates a portion of their coffee bar proceeds to local non-profits. To date, they have donated more than $80,000 to make our community a stronger, more just place. We are grateful for their support and for the opportunity to represent as their community partner of the month!

Ways you can help:
• meet friends or co-workers for a coffee, tea, or smoothie at Urban Abbey
• encourage friends & family to stop by Urban Abbey
• attend our events at Urban Abbey

Thursday, March 7th 6-8PM
Prairie Talk with the Real @lancefromiowa 
Come learn all about one the most treasured + disturbed natural environments: the prairie ecosystem. We will discuss tips for visiting the prairie, how to prepare a site for a prairie installation, interesting varieties and medicinal uses of prairie plants, who lives in the prairie, and how we can work to save it. Prairie enthusiasts unite! Facilitator, Lance Brisbois works at Golden Hills RC&D in Oakland, Iowa, serves on the Board of the Iowa Prairie Network and is notorious on Instagram (@lancefromiowa) for his beautiful prairie photography.

Friday, March 22nd 6:30pm
Film Screening: Love Letters from the Resistance
This newly-released documentary by local filmmakers Karalee Padilla and Lynn Sanchez follows 8 dynamic women on their paths to strengthen the local food system. Come & be inspired to join their ranks! 48 minutes, with discussion following. Preview the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EidkY5gF-Ls

Saturday, April 6th 10am-12pm Easter Egg-stravaganza
Bring the whole family to pet *real live bunnies* from Camp Fontanelle, receive your first Easter egg of the season, and create your own little microgreen garden! It will be a lovely day!

Urban Abbey is located at 1026 Jackson Street in Omaha's Old Market.
Click here to learn more about Urban Abbey.

May 2, 2019


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Thanks to a generous partnership with CHI Health, we are the proud new owners of the “Gather” mobile kitchen classroom. Custom-built by Imagi-Motive of Austin, TX, this is a fully-functional kitchen trailer outfitted with a 4-burner gas stove & oven, a refrigerator, handwashing sink, and commercial dish sink.

We intend to take this trailer to our school classes and other local foods events. The mobile kitchen will also accompany our Farmers Market Tours this summer where participants learn how to shop & prepare foods from the Farmers Markets. Having a mobile kitchen classroom will allow us to provide hands-on food and cooking demonstrations in conjunction with our garden education classes. This will help us to increase knowledge around preparing and eating garden-fresh produce for our participants.

The “Gather” mobile kitchen classroom made its soft launch at the CHI Midlands Community Health Fair in March. At that event our educators prepared vegan Memphis style BBQ street tacos, slaw, and vegan lemon bars for people participating in the Health Fair at the hospital in Papillion. The mobile kitchen classroom made its big, official debut at City Sprouts South’s Earth Day event in April. At that event, we served salad with locally-grown purple radishes, fresh asparagus, lavender lemonade, and a fresh slaw to accompany chicken sandwiches that City Sprouts provided.

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We are incredibly thankful to CHI Health for this generous gift, and we look forward to using it to strengthen our local food systems for many years to come. You can see the trailer for yourself at our Omaha Gives party on May 22nd when Chef Isaiah of Dire Lion food truck will be onhand serving up fresh, tasty foods. Hope to see you there!

Click here to see our trailer featured on KMTV!

January 9, 2019


The Big Garden will hold its 5th Annual Seed Share at Omaha’s Yates Community Center Saturday, February 16th from 10am-2pm. Big Muddy Urban Farm and City Sprouts are co-hosting the event. Seeds, including many organic & heirloom, will be available free-of-charge to everyone in attendance. Gardeners are also encouraged to bring their own seeds to share with neighbors. Previous Big Garden seed shares have been wildly popular, with more than 150 attendees each.

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New this year, organizers will name the “Seed of the Year.” This is one special heirloom variety that will be highlighted across Omaha as a fun way to encourage gardeners to plant seedlings that have special historical significance to our bioregion.

Seed shares are an important community tradition where local gardeners can meet to exchange and share their seeds. Seed shares offer many benefits including: connecting neighbors, sharing age-old skills and stories, cost-savings for growers, and protecting local biodiversity.

In the last century, 94% of our seed varieties have disappeared. Seed-saving and sharing is particularly important these days as biotech chemical companies gain increasing control over our seeds. Access to seeds is a vital part of a resilient food system. Saving and sharing seeds becomes an act of resistance and an opportunity to for us to come together as a more self-sufficient community.

This event is for novice gardeners who want to connect with veteran gardeners, veteran gardeners who have skills to share, those who want to learn more about the importance of seed-saving, and those who care about strengthening our food system from the ground up. 

Details:
Annual Seed Share
Saturday February 16th, 10am-2pm
Yates Community Center, 3260 Davenport Street

·      Free seeds
·      Seed-starting demonstration
·      Free handouts
·      Live music
·      Art projects for kids
·      Healthy snacks

September 17, 2018


Big Garden education staff, Stephanie Finklea and Matthew Cronin, attended the United Methodist Church’s hunger conference in Washington D.C. September 5th-7th. Matt & Stephanie are regular teachers in our middle school education programs teaching low-income kids to grow, cook, & preserve fresh garden produce. Matt also leads our Volunteers in Mission (VIM) teams.

The seminar, hosted by the General Board of Church & Society, was called Scarcity & Abundance: Hunger in the United States. During the seminar, Matt & Stephanie gathered with United Methodists from all across the country to learn about:

  • the impact of hunger in rural, suburban, & urban communities

  • the impact of hunger on women and children

  • the impact of hunger on health

  • the impact of hunger on marginalized communities

  • the racial wealth gap

  • “re-thinking” food ministries

  • the impact of policies on hunger

Matt & Stephanie also had the opportunity to learn how to effectively meet with their Congressional Representatives. At the end of the seminar, they met with staff from the offices of Sen. Deb Fischer, Rep. Don Bacon, and Sen. Ben Sasse, urging them to support the SNAP food program.

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Of the seminar, Stephanie said:

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“I knew that poverty was a problem in the United States but I never had hard evidence to be able to demonstrate just how bad the problem is to other people. This conference provided the support I needed to explore the issue of poverty. The conference chose to tackle one specific issue of poverty: food insecurity. Our mission while in DC was to learn as much as we could about the issue so we could speak to our state representatives about protecting SNAP. A few key points I learned:

• The richest 1% of Americans control 40% of the $60 trillion in American wealth.

• Over 40.6 million people live below the poverty line.

• Half of American households could face poverty if someone in the home lost a job or became ill.

• One in 20 bags of food assistance comes from charitable programs. The rest is provided by federal nutrition programs. Charitable organizations alone are not enough to meet the needs of the people.

• Race plays a large factor in the way poverty affects individuals. The most vulnerable among us are single womyn and single mothers of color. (National Women’s Law Center)

• Formerly incarcerated individuals are ineligible for SNAP benefits. Of these returning citizens, 91% report being food insecure.

The problem of poverty and food insecurity seems almost impossible to take on when you look at numbers alone but the conference brought together people from all over the country. The fellowship there made me feel like it’s absolutely possible if we band together and continue to advocate for the needs of all instead of the desires of a few.”

Following the seminar, Matt & Stephanie stayed an extra day to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Stephanie said, “The experience gave me a greater appreciation for how far Black Americans have come. The exhibit begins with an explanation of how individual African tribes interacted and thrived before the first colonists decided to sell humans as commodities. From there, the visitor is taken on the voyage across the sea with captured Africans. The despair is palpable as you look upon the recovered pieces of slave ships and read quotes from the enslaved themselves. You then view articles of clothing, tools, and even the homes of what life on an American plantation was like. You continue on through the decades to witness the civil war, the fight for civil rights, and eventually the modern oppression that still plagues this nation. I left feeling the weight of the pain that my ancestors endured but also the persistent spirit that has allowed us all to thrive.”

May 3, 2018

 

On Sunday, April 28th, The Big Garden held a ceremony at its campus to honor Gene & Dorrie Gage, two Nebraska farmers who donated greenhouses to the non-profit organization. The two 80’ greenhouses were dedicated in their honor.

Since the 1970s, Gene, the owner of Heartland Organics in Martell, has dedicated himself to growing organic herbs, vegetables, and perennials that feed people and restore biodiversity. In recent years, Gene has mentored a number of young farmers, food advocates, and entrepreneurs. One young farmer mentee, Cait Caughey, is now Director of Education at The Big Garden.

In Omaha, Cait and the staff at The Big Garden work to reduce hunger by teaching people the skills they need to grow, cook, and preserve fresh garden produce. However, the greenhouses on their campus were outdated, inefficient, and dangerous.

Wanting to downsize and head toward retirement, Gene had offered to sell his greenhouses to local large-scale farmers. He was days away from accepting an offer. Then one day while working in Gene's greenhouse, Cait said to him, “I loved working in this greenhouse. Sometimes I wish I still worked here.” That’s when lightning struck and Gene realized that if he divided the greenhouse in half, it would fit on The Big Garden’s Omaha campus.

The Big Garden now uses the Gage’s greenhouses to grow seedlings to donate to its program gardens, in addition to seedlings that it sells to the public to fund its programs. Since the spring of 2017, The Big Garden has grown more than 40,000 herb, vegetable, and perennial flower seedlings in the greenhouses that the Gages donated.

Nathan Morgan, Executive Director of The Big Garden says, “Gene & Dorrie’s gift has meant that thousands of low-income kids in Omaha are learning how to grow fresh food, eat healthier, and lead healthier lives. The skills that Gene has taught to young people in those greenhouses for so many years are now being multiplied at The Big Garden.”

Gene takes the long view. He says, “My former greenhouses will now be part of a laudable effort to provide food to people who need it for generations to come---not a bad legacy to leave.” Not a bad legacy at all.

 

FREE FARMERS MARKET TOURS

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The Farmers Market is a great place to shop for healthy, fresh foods and support your local farmers! Come & explore the Farmers Market with The Big Garden, Whispering Roots, and Nebraska Extension. These tours are an educational program for individuals, families, and participants who register ahead of time. The tour includes tips for shopping at the market, basic nutrition education, meeting local producers, a cooking demonstration and $10 in tokens per household for shopping at the farmers market. We will teach you all about shopping local at the market: how to select and prepare seasonal produce, how to shop on a budget, and how to use SNAP, WIC, SFMNP, and/or debit cards. Pre-registration is required below. Note that there are two different tour tracts: one that is open to the general public, and one that is just for WIC participants.

Things to know before you register:

  • You must register at www.biggarden.org in order to participate. Those not registered will not be eligible to receive tokens. Participants are only eligible to attend one tour per year.

  • Please be aware that these tours are outdoors during the hot summer months and they involve walking around the market as a group to visit vendor booths. There will be little to no opportunities to sit down and the market may be crowded. Sign-up for early morning tours if that would be better, bring water, and dress for the weather.

  • If you are registered for a tour and need to reschedule, you must email info@BigGarden.or to change your registration date. Space is limited so the $10 tokens are only available for those who are registered for the exact tour that day.

  • Please arrive 10 minutes early for your scheduled tour as we will start right at the scheduled time.

  • All registrants are expected to participate in the entire program (usually 1-2 hours depending on the market) in order to receive tokens. Participants who arrive more than 15 minutes late, or leave the tour early, will not be eligible for the $10 in tokens.

  • We may cancel tours that do not have enough participants and invite you to sign-up for another date.

  • Tours may also need to be cancelled or rescheduled due to weather. If this is the case, we will send an email or text message as soon as we make the decision. If you do not receive a message and are not sure if the tour is happening, you may check www.biggarden.org to confirm.

  • No dogs are allowed on the Farmers Market Tours, except service animals.

  • Tokens will be distributed as $10 per household. If multiple families and/or unrelated adult individuals live in one household these individuals can receive additional tokens. The purpose of the tokens is to purchase items that will be used to cook a healthy meal at home. Tokens are to be used on the following items -- fresh produce (fruits and veggies), herbs, honey, meat, cheese and other dairy, whole grain breads. The tokens are not to be used on pastries, prepared foods, and/or sugary drinks, or other craft/non-food items.

Farmers Market Tours have ended for the 2019 growing season.

Please check back in June of 2020 for future tours.


February 10, 2017


In January, Big Garden staff members Cait Caughey and Nathan Morgan traveled to Haiti to learn alongside local famers in Dieulece, La Gonave, a small island off the coast of Port-au-Prince. They traveled at the invitation of the Rev. Kalaba Chali, Mercy & Justice Coordinator for the Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church, and Sheryl Crooks, the chair of the Great Plains Haiti Partnership. Below is a report by Nathan Morgan, Executive Director of The Big Garden, submitted to the Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church:

Our friends Moise and Mathieu coordinated a visit from Anse a Galets to a small village called “Dieulece,” translated in English to mean “God knows,” up in the mountains of the island. The trip up the mountain was challenging and made us realize how difficult transportation is on the island. A trip of less than 20 miles took more than three hours in the back of a pickup truck.
 
More than 100 people, including many members of a local farmer’s cooperative, were waiting for us in a church. Rev. Chali and Mathieu translated for those of us in the group who did not speak French. The farmers reminded us that all farming was organic and expressed no interest in leaving La Gonave for the city. They love farming and growing food. During a Q&A, several people stated that they were particularly interested in improving their animal husbandry skills.
 
The farmers listed several crops in production in the area: corn, bananas, oranges, eggplant, tomatoes, etc. They did mention that they used to grow more citrus but there has been a disease that has killed many of the trees and reduced production. A young farmer expressed concern that irrigation was a problem for some farmers. We later learned that he had attended an agricultural technical school at Cape Haitien. He had a garden near the church that he showed us after the meeting where he had cultivated raised beds and had dug a small culvert under the road to channel water to his field, an impressive task as the soil is extremely rocky and all of the work was done by hand or with the help of donkeys most likely. Another farmer commented that they could use more tools such as shovels, picks, hoes, rakes, and scythes as these tools are the common used tools in this part of the country and do not require expensive means to use or fix, like tractors would.
 
Our group discussed several responses to the farmers concerns. These discussions were informed by the fact that, although our United Methodist Conference is a rural area, agriculture in Kansas and Nebraska is very different than in the tropics. Varieties of crops that are common here may not be suited for the climate there and might cause more problems than they solve. We also want to support the farmer’s desires to remain in their communities and farm without chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. With these things in mind there were three general suggestions we came away with for further discernment: 
 
1. To contact Heifer International, which is already active in Haiti, to include the La Gonave area.
2. To explore whether the agricultural school in Cape Haitien could benefit more farmers and how we might be able to facilitate any training there for the farmers in Dieulece. 
3. To consider raising money through our Haiti partnership for hand tools for the farmers' cooperative in Dieulece. To support the local economy, it is important to purchase the tools in Haiti, preferably in La Gonave.

As a mission agency of the Great Plains Conference, The Big Garden is grateful to offer support to the Haiti Partnership and our friends in La Gonave in their efforts to grow food in Haiti for Haitians. We invite you to pray for our Haitian friends, particularly La Gonave and their farming work.

To learn more about the Great Plains Haiti Partnership, contact the Haiti Partnership Chair, Sheryl Crooks: scrooks63@gmail.com or the Rev. Kalaba Chali: kchali@greatplainsumc.org.

November 6, 2017


On October 29th, The Big Garden held a ceremony to dedicate its future outdoor classroom to longtime activists, Ruth & Lowen Kruse. Members of First United Methodist Church in Omaha, Ruth & Lowen have spent decades working for social justice in the Omaha area and beyond. They were also integral to the founding of United Methodist Ministries in 1966, the parent organization of The Big Garden. We were pleased to dedicate the future Ruth and Lowen Kruse Outdoor Classroom at The Big Garden in their honor.

October 24th, 2017


On Saturday, October 21st, friends and family, neighbors, workshop participants, and school gardeners gathered together to celebrate the end of a successful gardening season at The Big Garden's 2nd annual fall Harvest Festival. The FREE family-friendly event, held at The Big Garden's campus, drew a diverse crowd of more than 225 people representing many ages, ethnicities, and languages. Entertainment included singer-songwriter Jocelyn Music and bluegrass band The Dirty River Ramblers. There were also pony rides from LaRue's Little Horse Ranch, which proved very popular. Other favorite activities included face painting, the popcorn machine, a spooky sensory booth, and a haunted greenhouse. At the Harvest Festival, Executive Director Nathan Morgan publicly announced that The Big Garden paid off its entire campus mortgage this summer, just a year and a half after purchasing the property in north-central Omaha. The event was a great success, and fun was had by all.

Special thanks to our event sponsors: Slate Architecture and Schleisman Onken & Associates.

October 18, 2017


The Big Garden is pleased to welcome Stephanie Finklea as our newest full-time employee. Stephanie began her work in September as Education Assistant. Her responsibilities include preparing and teaching Big Garden classes in the Omaha Public Schools system. She will also serve as lead educator during our summer Grow-Your-Own program. Right now, she teaches our Farm to School classes in six OPS elementary schools and our Seed-to-Market classes in four OPS middle schools. Stephanie is a native of Bellevue, NE and a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She is a great addition to The Big Garden team! If you would like to contact her, email sfinklea@BigGarden.org.

Stephanie says:

I have been gardening for a few years with a small plot in my backyard. Each year I have expanded to include several different types of vegetables, herbs, and fruit. I have also perfected a variety of hygiene and cleaning product recipes that I make myself.

My favorite part of my job is interacting with the kids. They’re so curious that I can’t help but see the world through their eyes! I’m giving them tools that they’ll be able to use in their daily lives. It’s beautiful to watch them take steps toward self sufficiency.

I’m passionate about growing food. I want to see all people empowered to reclaim their right to access to healthy food and see communities come together in the process.

Outside of work I enjoy walking my dog Dash, spending time with friends and family, and tending my home garden. I also enjoy spending time outdoors biking, hiking, and relaxing on my own.

Welcome, Stephanie!

October 9, 2017

 

The Big Garden is excited to announce that it has paid off the mortgage to its property at 5602 Read Street in Omaha, NE. This comes just a year and a half after purchasing the property in March of 2016. This is the first property owned by The Big Garden and its parent, United Methodist Ministries. The Big Garden was able to pay off the mortgage in full thanks to a generous gift from First United Methodist Church, a few key individuals, and locally-based foundations.

The Big Garden previously operated out of a rented office space in downtown Omaha, sharing it with the Missouri River District of the United Methodist Church. This space had no running water, no growing space, and only a small garage. Staff struggled to maintain seedlings in several off-site locations and could not give them the daily attention that was required. Staff also struggled to properly care for equipment without access to running water or adequate storage.

Then, the seeds of a dream were planted. Nathan Morgan, Executive Director, says, "Five years ago I was bouncing around in our old Ford pickup with Matt Freeman our current Development Director when we began to talk about a dedicated site for The Big Garden. We envisioned an urban farm campus with land to grow fresh produce, space for staff, and a barn to store equipment and build garden beds. We knew that we could do so much more to grow healthy food, healthy kids and healthy communities if we just had the space and infrastructure. That vision stayed with us and was shared by the rest of The Big Garden staff and board." Thus, the search for a permanent home began.

In the fall of 2015, after exploring several locations in North Omaha that proved untenable, a little serendipity came into play. The campus search committee stumbled upon a for-sale property just north of 56th & Sorensen Parkway. The property, nearly two acres in size, was home to a florist and garden nursery business at the time. The owner was looking to retire. The buildings included: two greenhouses, a 2800 square ft. garage, an 1100 square ft. outbuilding, and an 800 square ft. home. "In March of 2016, we closed on The Big Garden Campus. It was a leap of faith to move into this permanent home. Now, a little over a year later, I'm happy to announce that we have paid off the property and are debt free," says Morgan.

Since moving to the new location, The Big Garden has planted several on-site demonstration gardens, rebuilt the two greenhouses, completed minor interior renovations, grown thousands of perennials, herbs & vegetables, established bees & chickens, and hosted numerous workshops, volunteer groups, and events. The Big Garden's ultimate goal for the property is to create an urban agriculture "hub" where people will come to learn the skills necessary to grow, cook, and preserve garden produce.

Morgan says, "The generosity of everyone that supported this vision is humbling. We are grateful to all the individuals, churches and foundations that donated, sometimes sacrificially to bring make this dream a reality."


Big Garden Campus
Renovation Timeline

While the purchase of the property at 5602 Read Street in Omaha in late March of 2016 was a Godsend, we knew there would be much necessary work over the next few years to make the campus function in a way that facilitated our mission & programming. Partly out of necessity, and partly because it was almost time to begin the growing season, we decided to move in and "live into" the campus for the first season.

We soon discovered, however, that the aging greenhouses were in a state of disrepair, and were not the most energy efficient. Working in collaboration, the staff and board decided that the first renovation project would be the greenhouses. In a fortuitous turn of events, a dear farmer friend decided to retire and donate two double-insulated polyethylene greenhouses measuring roughly 24x80 feet each to The Big Garden. Besides being much more energy efficient, the new greenhouses will increase our growing capacity and our ability to offer on-site demonstrations and growing space to our community partners. We will also begin growing perennials in addition to our vegetable crops.

Scroll to the bottom to see the most recent updates.


Phase 1: Greenhouse Replacement

March & April

Working in collaboration with the previous owner, we moved in gradually, as she moved out. We built dozens of raised garden beds for the 2016 growing season in the garage while the owner packed up the house and florist shop. We also worked to re-home several truckloads of items and debris from the new property, in preparation for our ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 9th. We officially began moving our offices to the new campus in mid-April. As we moved in, we had some minor repairs done to the roof & gutters campus-wide, and we installed ADA-compliant ramps to the Education Center and the house/offices.

May, June & July

Not being ones to let grass grow under our feet, we launched right into the growing season with our summer interns. Having done previous soil & water tests, we immediately planted several new on-site gardens, started seedlings, and hosted our first on-site Nature Camp! In June & July, our educators also taught classes to children and youth at 26 unique sites across Omaha, reaching more than 650 kids each week!

July

A hardy crew of Big Garden staff and friends traveled to Martell, NE to deconstruct two greenhouses which were donated by Gene Gage of Heartland Organics. The crew did the back-breaking work on two of the hottest days of the year, deconstructing and transporting the greenhouses to our campus in Omaha. The parts were then stored in our garage while we waited for the old greenhouses to be demolished.

August & September

Meanwhile...the first greenhouse demolition crew came in and removed all of the electrical, heating, and cooling elements from the old greenhouses on our campus. But when they began to remove the glass panes, they discovered asbestos between the panes. While it posed no hazard intact, removing the panes one-by-one was a careful and painstaking remediation job that took much longer than anticipated. At this time, the main water line to the campus was turned off in preparation for the full demolition. This meant no running water or toilets for staff for the following 2.5 months!

Early October

After the painstaking work of deconstructing the glass panes in the greenhouses was complete, it was time for the heavy equipment to come in and do their work. The framing, retaining walls, and slabs were removed first. Another crew came in and leveled & graded the site.

Meanwhile...

We had some expected, as well as some unexpected, major tree removal. Please ignore the weeds in the foreground; we were busy juggling lots of balls!

First Annual Harvest Festival

Despite being in the midst of major construction and having no running water, we decided to proceed with our scheduled Harvest Festival! We simply blocked access to the back half of the campus, with plenty of room for activities in the front half. The Prairie Gators provided music, there was apple cider pressing, face painting, seed-saving demonstrations, and even a barn dance! It was a wonderful way to celebrate the first harvest season in our new home.

Late October

Sun Valley Landscaping installed four new retaining walls to replace the previous cinderblock walls which were buckling. The new walls are 120# concrete, measuring hundreds of feet in length and requiring tons and tons of backfill dirt & gravel. Drainage is incorporated into the new walls. The walls are beautiful, and the folks at Sun Valley were a pleasure to work with! Photos courtesy of Sun Valley Landscaping.

November

After a lengthy permitting delay, we were finally back on track to begin constructing the new greenhouses. We also received the green light to install a new water line to the house/offices. Of course the water line installation did not go as smoothly as planned, and we found non-permitted lines and gushing water underground! Nevertheless, we did the necessary work to repair and split the water lines giving us indoor water and toilets on December 2nd! (The greenhouses will be great, but our staff was almost as excited to have indoor water turned on!)

December

After receiving proper permits, the footings for the new greenhouses were poured and gravel was laid for the pathways. We received a number of bids and contracted South O Roofing to erect the greenhouses under the supervision of Gene Gage. South O Roofing also replaced an exterior wall that had previously connected the upper greenhouse to the Education Center. Soon, they will begin installing the exterior shell of the greenhouses, followed by the electrical, heating, and cooling elements, and the gas line. Ultimately, the lower greenhouse will have fully-accessible pathways.

January

This month, MUD ran the gas line from the street to the greenhouses. This was about 3 weeks ahead of schedule, and we were pleasantly surprised. South O Roofing sided the upper exterior of the education center and began constructing the end walls of the greenhouses. Under the supervision of farmer Gene Gage, the first layers of poly sheeting were applied to the exterior of the greenhouses. Once the exterior is completed, crews will begin hanging the heating and cooling elements, followed by the gas and electrical lines. We are steadily working toward our March 6th deadline to begin growing seedlings for this season.

February

This month, the end walls for both greenhouses were completed. The poly sheeting was applied to the lower greenhouse, and fans and furnaces have been hung. We've built tabletops to hold the plant trays, acquired some great stainless steel tables for seeding (thanks Craigslist!), hauled lots of cinderblocks, and begun accumulating the items we need to start planting seeds March 6th! The sidewalks will be installed around us in the coming weeks.

Phase 2: Education Center Renovation

While this will not be a complete renovation of the Education Center, it will include installing ADA-compliant restrooms, relocating the walk-in cooler, replacing windows, installing a stove, dishwasher, and large sink; and re-wiring the electrical panel. These renovations will greatly increase our capacity for on-site classes and programming in keeping with our mission & goals.

March & April

Crews have continued working on the Education Center in order to have it ready by the time our summer interns begin May 22nd. They removed the outdated walk-in cooler, a small closet, and a non-accessible restroom. They re-wired the electrical work, adding a number of outlets and lights. The crews added dropped-ceiling where the cooler had been, and installed a brand-new ADA compliant restroom! They also added a small kitchen sink for use in the education space. This process held us up a week or two as we waited for city inspection. Meanwhile, our staff worked to redirect water runoff from going under the brand new sidewalk. And we had to call the electrician back because the outlets in the lower greenhouse weren't working. Then, just this week we discovered what may be asbestos in an upper storage room, which means we will have to do the proper abatement procedures for removing it. What's that they say about two steps forward, one step back?!

May

Renovations chugged along in the Education Center during May. First, we sanded, painted, and sealed the concrete floor. Then we painted the walls, did a deep clean of the space, and began reorganizing all of our class supplies and materials, which was a HUGE process as we figured out how we want the workspace to flow this summer. And we prettied up the restroom. We were also the fortunate recipients of a donated brand-new commercial refrigerator! Now we will have room to store class supplies and garden produce. We also purchased and installed a dishwasher, which will save considerable time for our educators. After many late nights and long weekends, we were pretty much ready for our summer interns to begin their work on May 22nd. Then the furnace went out...and  we had a rain storm that brought water in through the west wall, so we are currently trenching around the building. And there's still that pesky asbestos room upstairs which will need to be remediated at some point. Again, two steps forward...

Phase 3: Outdoor Classroom

 


August 20, 2016


1 in 6 Americans doesn't have adequate access to food. 1 out of every 5 children in the U.S. is at risk of hunger. For African-American and Latino children, it's 1 in 3.


Groups and individuals of all ages are invited to join together Saturday, October 8th for our 3rd annual Harvest for Hunger day of service. The aim of Harvest for Hunger is to learn how food is grown and highlight the role that we can all play in creating more just food systems. We will spend the day working at the First UMC Big Garden farm site in Springfield, NE. After gleaning the fields, participants will help prepare the produce for donation to local food pantries.

The cost to participate is $5 which includes lunch and transportation. Pre-registration is required, and the registration deadline is September 30th. Groups should bring 1 adult for every 5 youth. You do not have to be affiliated with a church or denomination to participate.

Harvest for Hunger Day of Service
Saturday, October 8th, 9am-4pm
Start and end at the Big Garden campus, 5602 Read Street, Omaha.

Contact info@BigGarden.org or Jaimee at 402.906.2714 for more information.

Note: The practice of gleaning, collecting leftover crops from farmers' fields after they have been harvested, dates back to biblical times, but gleaning also has modern applications with increasing numbers of Americans having inadequate access to healthy foods.

Register HERE

August 15, 2016


The Big Garden just finished its 10-week summer summer garden program. The Grow-Your-Own program provides on-site gardening classes for primarily low-income children and youth at 26 locations across the Omaha-metro, reaching more than 600 children each week. This service is provided free-of-cost to schools, childcare centers, and other non-profit organizations participating in the Big Garden network, and classes are led by teams of paid Big Garden summer interns. The interns were led by Education Coordinator Cait Caughey, and Education Assistants Mary Hanten and Kay Wilwerding.

The children participating in the Grow-Your-Own program range in age from 2-18, and they learn skills needed to grow, tend, harvest, cook, and preserve their own food. The goal is to reduce hunger by increasing access to fresh, healthy produce. The Big Garden’s proprietary curriculum, covers healthy soil, pollinators, companion planting, the food chain, local foods & markets, food preservation, harvesting, seed saving, and more.

This year's interns included Sally Moore, Lela Tunnell, Anna Stark, Mackenzie Shreve, Gabe Kreifels, Haley Ourada, and Michaela Wolf. Sharing her hopes at the outset of the summer, Haley said, "This experience will not only allow me to increase the food security of my community, but it will also help me to establish skills that will help me excel in my career field." Michaela said, "I am excited to have a job where I care so much about the work that we are doing. That is really important to me."

Click here to view a special KETV report about our summer Grow-Your-Own program.

 

We've been receiving a fair bit of publicity as of late. Here are some of the stories, in case you missed them:
 

WOWT Channel 6 News story 4/7/2016


Omaha World Herald 4/18/2016


United Methodist GPconnect Spring 2016 (p. 16)

March 15, 2016


The Big Garden will soon put down roots in its new home at 5602 Read Street in north-central Omaha. This comes after a nearly two-year search.

The Big Garden has long outgrown the office space at 26th & Farnam Streets that it has occupied for more than 10 years. While the office does have a garage for storing tools, it lacks basic necessities for operating community gardens, including running water and greenhouse space. Up to now, Big Garden staff have traveled to multiple greenhouses across Omaha each week to water seedlings and plants. Likewise, Big Garden educators have been forced to prepare for classes, including simple food preparation, in a small garage hallway. Other staff have built hundreds of raised beds out of the same cramped garage.

Cait Caughey, Big Garden Education Coordinator says, “We are so excited to move to a larger space! We will be able to reach more children through our programming, and our work will be much more efficient."

In the fall of 2015, after exploring several locations in North Omaha that proved untenable, a little serendipity came into play. The campus search committee stumbled upon a for-sale property just north of Sorensen Parkway in Omaha. The property, just under two acres in size, was home to a florist and garden nursery business at the time. The owner was looking to retire. The buildings include: two serviceable greenhouses, a 2800 square ft. garage, an 1100 square ft. outbuilding, and an 800 square ft. home.

The home will become offices for the Big Garden staff, the outbuilding will become an education center, and the garage will house tools, vehicles, and educational materials. The land is large and idyllic, with room for chickens, a large demonstration garden, outdoor events, a permaculture garden, picnic tables, and on-site classes.

The purchase and renovation of the property at 5602 Read Street is expected to cost approximately $400,000. Renovation plans include repairs to the home’s roof, a retaining wall, and ultimately updating the restrooms in the education building. The campus committee is exploring options for repairing or rebuilding the greenhouses. In recent months, the Big Garden has secured $150,000 toward the purchase and renovation.

Nathan Morgan, Executive Director, says, “We are excited about this opportunity to expand our reach and have a greater impact in fighting hunger in the Omaha area. We are grateful to the individuals and foundations who have supported our work and helped us reach this milestone.”

The Big Garden will hold a ribbon-cutting and ceremonial planting of the first seeds at the new campus at 4pm, Friday, April 8th. All are invited to attend.

February 5, 2016


The Big Garden is now accepting applications for its paid summer internship program. Qualified applicants will be passionate about food security and/or gardening, local foods, and working with children. The internship runs from May 18th through August 10th. If you, or someone you know, are interested, please contact ccaughey@biggarden.org for more information. Application deadline is March 15th. Please help us spread the word! 

2016 INTERNSHIP FLYER

February 7, 2016


2016 marks 50 years of United Methodist Ministries' radical, justice-seeking work in the Omaha community and beyond. Founded in 1966, UMM has had many identities over the years, but the commitment to social justice has always remained the same. This year, we are honoring the past and celebrating new growth.

On April 8th & 9th, UMM will hold a 2-day celebration. Friday evening will begin with a ribbon-cutting at our new campus site, followed by a locally-sourced gourmet banquet at First United Methodist Church. The keynote speaker for the dinner event will be Harriett Jane Olson, General Secretary and CEO of the United Methodist Women, an international organization of women committed to tackling injustices worldwide. There will also be awards & recognitions and a choir at the dinner. Saturday will consist of a line-up of dynamic workshops on poverty & food security, spring canning, organic gardening techniques, a living history of United Methodist Ministries, and a conversation with Harriett Jane Olson. The day will also include local music, tours of the new campus, and a blessing of the seeds. All are encouraged to attend!

Pre-registration is required.
Full weekend: $50
Friday only: $30
Saturday only: $20
Limited scholarships are available. Contact us if interested.

Click here for registration information.

 

Special thanks to our event sponsors:
The United Methodist Women of First United Methodist Church
Soul Desires/Urban Abbey
Ms. Teresa Mardesen
Rev. Stephanie Ahlschwede
Mr. William Gess
Hanscom Park United Methodist Church
Mr. Craig Howell
United Methodist Women of the Great Plains Annual Conference
 

 

January 1, 2016


The Big Garden is pleased to welcome Matthew Cronin as our newest full-time employee. Matt began his work in January of 2016 as Program Coordinator. His responsibilities will include building relationships with garden sites, facilitating new builds, and working with volunteer teams. He also works for the Nebraska Wildlife Rehab and is a founding member of Big Muddy Urban Farm. Matt has an infectious warmth about him, and we look forward to working with him. If you would like to contact him, email mcronin@BigGarden.org. Read more about Matt on our Leadership page.

September 25, 2015


The Big Garden is pleased to announce that it has received joint grant funding of $40,000 from AgriBank and Farm Credit Services of America to implement new gardens in the Omaha area over the next three years. The new gardens funded by AgriBank and FCSAmerica will allow The Big Garden to increase its annual production by 25,000 pounds by 2018. The planned gardens are on top of the 10 gardens already built with support from AgriBank and FCSAmerica, both of which are part of the Farm Credit System.

"By partnering with over 100 schools, community organizations and congregations to develop community gardens, and teaching hundreds of children and adults how to grow their own food, the Big Garden is having a huge impact on food insecurity in our community" said Nathan Morgan, Executive Director of the Big Garden. "We are grateful for the support of Agribank and FCSAmerica in this work."
 
 
FULL PRESS RELEASE

August 15, 2015


School is back in session for many, and our summer programming has come to an end. Our outstanding crew of six interns, led by our Programming & Education Coordinator, taught garden classes for children and youth at 15 different sites this summer. Each week, more than 300 children were reached though our classes. Children had lots of fun learning about soil health, vermicomposting, pollinators, planting, and much more. Thank you to our great interns, the awesome sites that hosted them, and the wonderful children we were able to work with all summer. It was definitely one for the record books. To see the statistical impact of our programming, check out our end-of-summer report.

June 11, 2015


Our six summer interns, led by a Programming & Education Coordinator, are teaching on-going garden classes for children and youth at 15 different sites this summer. Each week, more than 300 children are reached though our summer programming classes. Things are going great, as the children have already learned lessons on soil health, vermicomposting, pollinators, planting, and more.

Cait Caughey, Programming & Education Coordinator, says:

"Our curriculum has objectives and outcomes, evaluations, learning strategies, basic science concepts and gardening skills. It is chalk-full of elements we are trying to share with our participants (ages 3 through 18), but the real success is when we see things click, when the participants lead the way, when we build relationships, and most of all when the kids are having "SOOOO much fun."   Our summer is off to great start: full of tasting vegetables we've never tasted before, hunting for wild plants and pollinators, getting our hands dirty, building compost piles, and sharing the abundance that a small urban garden can produce. When it comes to gardening with kids there are endless moments of wonder and surprise. And yes, I do have the BEST job ever."

We have a strong program in place, and we are proud to offer this service to the community. Follow our intern blog at http://thebiggardeninterns.tumblr.com/ to see more of our classes in action!

2015 SUMMER CURRICULUM

June 30, 2014


We recently caught up with friends from Grace United Methodist Church in Emporia, Kansas, while attending the annual meeting of the Great Plains Conference, in Lincoln, NE. The Rev. Susan Daniel-Brey, pastor of the church, stopped by our booth to share her passion about the community garden that her church launched this spring with the help of the Big Garden. We are excited to share their progress.

Initial planning for the garden began late last summer, led by Lola Jane Collinge of the church's Heath & Wellness Committee. The garden is located on an empty lot across the street from the church. The land was purchased several years ago and had an old house on it, which was later demolished. Since then the lot has remained vacant.


When asked why they wanted to start a community garden, Collinge says, "I have long had the desire to have a community garden, so last July a group got together and began the planning. We are located in a mainly Hispanic neighborhood, and we felt this would be a way to get acquainted with our neighbors and their customs, as well as provide good food, exercise and education. Each month we have a picnic in the garden, which has been well attended by both the neighborhood and the congregation."


According to church member Bobbie Mlynar, "Lola Jane has been so determined to get the garden rolling, and even in her 80s has worked like a 30 year-old getting it put together, it's something very close to her heart." Collinge quips, "Contrary to what Bobbi says, I have not been working like a 30 year-old---no 30 year-old in their right mind would work this hard!"


In February, the church posted a banner to let people know what was happening in their community (see pic below). The church broke ground on the garden this spring, building raised beds on the church property. By May, some of the beds were already planted, and they held an open house event to welcome people to the garden.

Produce will likely be distributed in a variety of ways, though final decisions have yet to be made: some may go home with families who work in the garden, some may be shared with friends, and some will be sold in the church's Sunday mini-market that raises funds to provide milk for the local Abundant Harvest meal program.

We are excited to see the unfolding of this garden. To learn more, follow La Bonita Garden of Grace on Facebook.

October 15, 2014


Volunteers of all ages gathered to participate in United Methodist Ministries' first Harvest for Hunger Day of Service on Saturday, October 4th. The day consisted of gleaning field crops at the Springfield United Methodist Big Garden, followed by delivery to a local food pantry.


Groups and individuals gathered at Hanscom Park UMC before traveling together to the Big Garden site in Springfield, Nebraska. Kris and Mike Betts of the Springfield UMC worked alongside volunteers in the field, which is on land owned by church members Dwight & Bette Trumble.
 

Through the course of the morning, volunteers worked through cold winds to glean a full truckload of produce that included butternut squash, beets, chard, carrots, snap peas, and tomatoes. The volunteers filled an additional truck with potatoes and watermelons that were harvested before threats of rain and frost.

After a lunch break, the volunteers traveled with the produce to Heartland Hope Mission in Omaha. Located near 21st & Q Street, Heartland Hope Mission is part of Omaha's three-pantry Hunger Collaborative, which works to find solutions to end hunger in our area. Nathan Morgan, executive director of United Methodist Ministries, estimates that roughly 3,000 pounds of produce were gleaned and donated through the Harvest for Hunger Day of Service.
 

Craig Howell, of the Hunger Collaborative, said, "We are so thankful for the service of United Methodist Ministries volunteers who gleaned on Saturday morning and provided our Heartland Hope Mission clients the fresh produce that afternoon. The best thank you that can be said from our clients is that there was no produce left at Heartland Hope when the Saturday pantry closed."

Volunteers represented Creighton University, Elkhorn Hills UMC, First UMC in Omaha, Hanscom Park UMC in Omaha, St. James UMC in Bellevue, and St. Paul UMC in Papillion.
 

Jessica Thacker Schleinat, youth group leader at First UMC in Omaha said, "Our youth group loves any time we can partner with other churches. We strongly believe that we can achieve more together and are grateful for the opportunities United Methodist Ministries provides. For many of our youth, it was only the second time going to a pantry, so it is definitely an experience that puts life into perspective. They left feeling energized to continue to serve and care for all of God's children. Thank you for a wonderful day!"
 

United Methodist Ministries' days of service for 2015 are as follows: Martin Luther King, January 19th; Global Youth Service Day, April 25th; and Harvest for Hunger, September 20th. All are welcomed and encouraged to participate.

June 20, 2014


The Big Garden was recently featured in the June issue of UMCOR's (United Methodist Committee on Relief) online newsletter. The article highlighted the garden ministries at St. James UMC in Bellevue, NE and St. Paul UMC in Omaha.

The Big Garden is funded in part through the United Methodist Advance, Missouri River District Askings, and Mission Share Dollars from the Great Plains United Methodist Conference. UMCOR is currently funding the development of eight community gardens in Iowa through the Big Garden program.

If your church would like to learn more about the Big Garden, please contact nmorgan@biggarden.org.

To read the entire article, click here.

July 29, 2013


The Big Garden was featured in a recent episode of the Nebraska public television show, the Backyard Farmer. Airing continuously since 1953, the Backyard Farmer show consists of a panel of experts affiliated with the University of Nebraska at Lincoln's Extension Office. The show also features interviews and stories of interest to gardeners.

Filmed at the garden started at Grace United Methodist Church in Omaha, the Big Garden segment features interviews with Nathan Morgan, Executive Director of United Methodist Ministries, Miriam Peralta Gandarilla, pastor of Grace UMC, and Matt Freeman, Director of the Big Garden. It aired Thursday, July 18th, at 7 PM on NET-1/NET-HD.

Click here to watch the Big Garden segment.

June 7, 2013


United Methodist Ministries is pleased to announce Nathan Morgan as its new Executive Director. Morgan succeeds the Rev. Stephanie Ahlschwede who has served as Executive Director for eight years.

Morgan has served as Director of the Big Garden, a program of United Methodist Ministries, for the past year, overseeing a network of more than 70 community gardens in Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas. As Director, Morgan recruited and implemented 15 new garden sites, managed the Big Garden's partnerships with other organizations, and served on the interim leadership of the Metro-Omaha Food Policy Council. Morgan also raised significant funding for the Big Garden through grantwriting. He is in the current class of the Nonprofit Executive Institute through the Nonprofit Association of the Midlands.

Ahlschwede says, "We've been working internally on succession planning for over a year, and the hire of Nathan to lead the Big Garden a year ago was part of that plan. He brings experience in both management and the implementation of programs. He is thoughtful, cares deeply about the church, and truly enjoys working with the people we serve."

A native of south Alabama, Morgan has lived in Omaha for 9 years. He comes to the Big Garden with degrees in Geography and Library Science. His background also includes organizing faith communities around poverty issues and helping rural schools integrate gardens and greenhouses into their science curricula. Nathan, along with his wife and 2 daughters, is an active member of First United Methodist Church in Omaha.

Teresa Whitehead, Board Chair of United Methodist Ministries says, "We honor and celebrate the foundation our current Executive Director, Stephanie Ahlschwede has given this ministry." Whitehead continues, "Nathan Morgan is a proven leader with a heart for mission. We look forward to working with him to take this organization into the future."

Morgan says, "I am excited about the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for United Methodist Ministries."