A 17-year-old Boy Scout recently built three raised garden beds for the Turlock Community Gardens, including one that will be used by a refugee family.
The remaining two beds will be used by a college student group and a large homeschool group.
The scout, James Taylor, has been involved in Scouting America for 10 years and is working toward becoming an Eagle Scout — the highest rank attainable in the program.
Turlock Community Gardens, at 4105 Crowell Road in Turlock, is a nonprofit organization that works to expand access to fresh produce while providing free, outdoor, hands-on learning opportunities.
Taylor said he connected with Turlock Community Gardens through another scouting parent who had ties to the organization. He pitched building the garden beds, an idea the garden readily embraced.
Scouting America teaches scouts how to plan and carry out service projects, the teen said, while the construction skills used to build the beds came from experiences working on similar projects with his father.
Taylor said he’s grateful to Turlock Community Gardens for giving him the opportunity and to all the businesses that supported the project.
“It was an eye-opening experience to be able to work on this project and create it, and it inspired me to help others that I wasn’t too familiar with,” Taylor said. “It really just puts in perspective how little deeds can really uplift others in times of need.”
Three raised garden beds were built by Boy Scout James Taylor for the Turlock Community Gardens.
Tending a community
Melissa Been, president of the Turlock Community Gardens, said the scout was a big help in giving the garden a boost, as the garden is largely volunteer run.
Founded five years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, the garden was created to address food insecurity and the sense of disconnection many people were experiencing at the time.
Been said the garden began with 45 beds, but the waitlist grew quickly and she realized it needed to expand.
At first, one space was designated as a “community garden bed” so new participants could immediately begin learning how to grow and harvest their own produce. The organization is now working to divide the garden into three sections to allow more families and groups to participate.
The garden has since grown to about 72 beds.
“It can be very therapeutic, you know, being outside and tending to the soil,” Been said.
Been said the garden periodically donates excess produce to other nonprofit organizations. Beyond food access, Turlock Community Gardens offers free, on-site programs for children.
To help remove financial barriers, the $15-a-month participation fees are now transitioning to being covered by local sponsors.
Been said she wants the garden to be as accessible as possible, noting that $180 a year can amount to an electricity bill or car payment for some families.
Those who have sponsored the gardens so far include Altruistic Physical Therapy, the Atrium, Central Valley Realtor Alex Sousa, Kline Family and Catherine Doo. Doo had renewed her sponsorship this year to cover the fees for eight refugee families, in collaboration with the International Rescue Committee in Turlock.
Looking ahead, Been said the organization plans to launch a “Lawn to Garden” initiative that would convert residents’ lawns into food gardens or native plant habitats, providing access right outside their homes.
The initiative would especially benefit people without cars, including refugees who may have difficulty traveling to the community garden. Been said the goal is to offer the program for free through sponsor support.
“The dream is to have some neighborhoods look like a bunch of gardens. It’ll be a beautiful thing,” Been said.
Boy Scout James Taylor, 17, built three raised garden beds for the Turlock Community Gardens.
Re-creating routine
Been said she has seen firsthand how eager and engaged refugee families are at the garden.
She said many families arrive after fleeing conflict or displacement, often leaving behind established jobs and daily routines in their home countries. The garden aims to give them a place to grow produce that is familiar to their culture and not always found in local stores.
Been said the refugee family that received the garden bed built by Taylor was excited and eager to get started.
“For us, it’s a small gift, but for them, it sometimes just means the world because it’s a place where they can go and have a type of routine, and they get to see other gardeners and build that camaraderie,” Been said.
While Taylor has not yet met the groups who will use the garden beds, he said he hopes to do so in the near future. He added that he wants the beds to provide a clean, sustainable space for families to grow what they need and for the broader community to enjoy healthy, unprocessed food.
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