Many of us reach out to veterans we know each November and thank them for their service.  In September, 2023 a group of nurses at the Veterans’ Affairs Outpatient Clinic on Jefferson Street in Jacksonville went beyond that.  Noticing that many of their patients struggled to access fresh vegetables and were in need of ways to get outdoor exercise, they started a community garden on the clinic grounds.  After getting permission from their clinic leadership, as well as the facility owner, they reached out to the Urban Gardening Program at the UF IFAS Extension Duval County office to select a site and develop a plan for the veterans’ community garden they call A Touch of Green.

 

Hard Work Bears Fruit

Using their lunch breaks and weekends, they sought community partnerships and planted the first seeds.  They brought veterans into the garden to help tend it, and also to teach them sustainable gardening practices.  During the last two years the garden has produced over 1450 pounds of fresh produce and herbs that were distributed to 1854 veteran recipients.  The nurses’ efforts have helped enhance veterans’ food security and encouraged healthy eating.  And they have provided a therapeutic physical environment for their gardeners, which has helped improve mental health and well being.  Some of their garden administrators have participated in garden leadership classes and also participated in ‘Vets for Vets’ initiatives.  Feedback from recipients of produce as well as gardening participants has been overwhelmingly positive.

                       

Success Brings Growing Challenges

It seems fitting then, that these extraordinary nurses will be honored for their accomplishments at the 2025 Keep Jacksonville Beautiful Awards Luncheon November 21, 2025.  Through their garden they have supported community beautification, enhanced community pride and improved the quality of life for veterans in Jacksonville. They exemplify KGB’s mission to make Jacksonville a better and more beautiful place. Even now, though, they are not resting on their success.  They are busy developing a plan to overcome challenges their garden faces.  Like many community gardens, they are striving to increase the number of dedicated volunteers to handle the workload as the garden grows.  They are using feedback from veteran participants to develop new orientation sessions and guidelines.  And they are researching additional funding resources.  These efforts will help make A Touch of Green a sustainable tribute, or thank you, to all of Jacksonville’s military veterans. If you are interested in volunteering or providing assistance to A Touch of Green, please text Anna Galino at 904 790 2304 or Lorna Burgos 410 900 2086. And if you’re interested in starting your own community garden, consider joining us for the 2026 Community Garden Leader Course.  Classes will be on Monday evenings in April and May.  Applications are required and will be available in January, 2026.  The course fee is $50.