Harrisburg Area YMCA's Camp Curtin Branch Urban Garden Adds Native Plants To Help Vegetables Grow

The Harrisburg Area YMCA’s Camp Curtin Branch has partnered with the Harrisburg Garden Partners Group to show that planting native plants can help your vegetables grow.

This group of partners has come together to build support for community agriculture and food access at the YMCA Camp Curtin Branch Urban Garden, located on Jefferson Street, behind the 6th street building in Harrisburg, PA. 

Phase one of gardening begins on May 21, 2022 with site preparation and a completed garden should be done by June 2022.

Rafiyqa Muhammad, Camp Curtin YMCA Branch Urban Garden Coordinator, established the Camp Curtain Urban Garden with sponsorship from GIANT FOOD in 2017 and the project has been growing ever since. 

Not only is she teaching our youth and their families that they can come to the garden learn about how to plant and grow your own food but also these children and their families are learning about sustainability, upcycling, recycling, and working in neighborhoods that they are growing up in.

The Kittatinny Ridge Conservation Landscape and Audubon Mid-Atlantic, with funding made available by the Donald B. Dorothy L. Stabler Foundation and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, is installing bird-friendly native plants to pollinate the crops, enhance bird habitat in the neighborhood and beautify the space and encourage residents to install native plants in their yards at home.

“Planting native plants with or near your vegetables is a great way to show how bugs, birds, and plants can all work together and create a sustainable system. They are very different, but they need each other.” Kristen Hand, DCNR Lead for the Kittatinny Ridge Conservation Landscape.

Harrisburg Garden Partners group with members from DCNR, Audubon Mid-Atlantic, Harrisburg Area YMCA’s Camp Curtin Branch, GIANT FOOD, Harrisburg Housing Authority, Manada Conservancy, Sprocket Mural Works, Landscape Architectural Design, Capital Region Water, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Keystone Ten Million Trees Partnership, Tri-County Action, Green Gardner Designs, Penn State Master Watershed Stewards, Camp Curtin School, City of Harrisburg, Bill Culwell Enterprises, NGOZI, Inc., and Rocky Gleason have several garden projects in the works for the next 5 years.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or would like to volunteer for the project please contact, Rafiyqa Muhammad, Harrisburg Area YMCA’s Camp Curtin Branch Urban Garden Coordinator at 717-255-9739 or email: rafiyqam@aol.com. 

Resource Links

-- Pollinator Gardens: Help Encourage Ecological Diversity In Your Own Backyard [Videos]

-- Gardening For Butterflies: Penn State Extension

-- Planting For Pollinators: Penn State Extension

-- Penn State Extension Master Gardeners

-- Penn State Pollinator Garden Certification

-- Audubon PA: Bird Habitat Recognition Program

-- Chesapeake Bay Sustainable Landscape Professional Directory

-- Manada Conservancy In Dauphin County Offers Pollinator/Native Plant Landscape Design Service [Recommended]

-- Audubon Society of Western PA Offering Discounted Pollinator Seed Mix For Agricultural Properties In PA

Related Articles:

-- DCNR Blog: Bring Life To Your Yard With Native Plants - Start With These; Garden Templates; Where To Buy

-- DCNR Blog: Growing Native Plants To Thwart Invasive Species

-- DCNR Blog: Good Weeds (Native Plants)

-- DCNR Blog: Be Aware - Don’t Be Fooled By These Common Look-A-Likes

-- DCNR Highlights Benefits Of Trees In Communities; TreeVitalize, TreePennsylvania, Keystone Tree Fund Can Help

-- Senate Hearing: Non-Native, Invasive Plant Species Ecologically Castrating The Landscape, But There Is A Solution

-- Feature: Recognizing The Value Of Native Plants For Pollinators - Dr. Doug Tallamy

-- Penn State Extension: Planting Pollinator-Friendly Gardens

-- PennDOT Launches New Pollinator Habitat Plan; Adopt And Beautify For Pollinators Program For Citizens Who Want To Help

[Posted: April 18, 2022]  PA Environment Digest