Backyards of Broadwater Supports Community Organizations
 | Author:
Allison Kosto, MSU Broadwater County Extension Agent
MSU Broadwater County Extension Agent |
Allison Kosto
MSU Broadwater County Extension Agent
Since 2017, Backyards of Broadwater has given over $3,000 back to local organizations and projects in Broadwater County to support horticulture, gardening and tree activities. This money comes from proceeds from the annual yard and garden tour. 2023 was a record year with 99 tickets sold. Backyards of Broadwater recently reviewed the grant applications from the 2023 event proceeds and is announcing this year’s recipients which are Broadwater FFA, Broadwater County Social Services Committee and Townsend Tree Board.
Broadwater FFA is a school-based youth organization for students interested in agriculture and leadership. The FFA program along with students in the horticulture class at Broadwater High School operates a greenhouse at the school. They provide produce for the school cafeteria. They are currently supplying microgreens which has been ongoing since the beginning of the school year. Their goal with the grant funds is to be able to expand the amount of student-grown produce for the cafeteria to once or twice a week. This program provides an opportunity for students to have access to healthy locally grown foods. It also instructs students in the program about raising their own food.
For the first time, the Broadwater County Social Services Committee is also a recipient of the grant funds. This committee provides funding and support for the Harvest of the Month program at Townsend Schools. Through this program, students in Broadwater FFA visit the elementary school to share information about a fruit or vegetable each month, often highlighting Montana-grown foods. The FFA members lead educational activities to teach students about how the food is grown, nutritional benefits and cooking. All students get to sample a recipe using the food product from the harvest of the month.
Last, but certainly not least, Backyards of Broadwater supported the Townsend Tree Board. This is a volunteer board overseen by the City of Townsend. They are responsible for managing the urban forest through tree planting, pruning, education, maintenance and care. The chairman of the Tree Board is Patrick Plantenberg. He coordinates community volunteers to get work done and can often be seen around town pruning and planting. He also makes arrangements to water trees during the summer.
Congratulations to all of the recipients! The date has been set for the next Backyards of Broadwater Tour on Saturday, July 27th. The committee is currently seeking gardens to be on the tour which will focus on the east side of Canyon Ferry Lake. They are looking for yards and gardens in the City of Townsend and in close proximity to Highway 284. Many people are worried that their garden isn’t “perfect,” but that is okay! We don’t want it to be! Backyards of Broadwater is an educational event and a fun way to connect locals with similar interests and highlight different and innovative ideas. Gardening is never perfect, and every year is different. Gardeners know that and it leads to discussions of innovative ideas and solutions.
A big thank you to the Backyards of Broadwater Committee: Becky Flynn, Terey Artz and Debbie Flynn. For more information, follow “Backyards of Broadwater” on Facebook or visit https://www.msuextension.org/broadwater/. For more information about the tour or to inquire about being a host location, contact MSU Extension in Broadwater County at 406-266-9242 or allison.kosto@montana.edu.
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PhotoCredit: Photo Credit: Jemma Loughery
Image 1 Caption: Students learning about Harvest of the Month at Townsend Elementary School.
Photo Credit: Jemma Loughery
