by Alana Reyes
After countless petitions, proposals and campaigns, South Bay Parkland Conservancy celebrated the grand opening of Redondo Beach’s first community garden June 21 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Alta Vista Park.
The garden’s launch came one year after the city council approved the project, modeling itself after similar projects in Hermosa Beach, Torrance and Pasadena.
The garden’s shaded Learning Center on the south end of the park hosted over 60 people for the ribbon-cutting, along with city officials and SBPC representatives.
“We envisioned something like this 20 years ago,” said Mayor Bill Brand, founding member of SPBC. “It doesn’t surprise me, but this crowd here today surprises me.”
Among the attendees were volunteers, including City Public Works Department representatives and Boy Scout Troop 586 members, who assembled the 27 planting beds open for rental through a lottery.
“Seeing this many people, and this many volunteers, it’s a momentum that’s just amazing,” said Redondo Beach City Councilmember Nils Nehrenheim.
The City contributed $90,000 to bring the vision of local food-growing to life.
The garden’s amenities include a sprouting communal herb forest, a compost area, an education space for classes, and a landscaped hillside with 180 native plants to benefit pollinators.
“It’s the only community garden I know of that combines feeding the pollinators with feeding the people,” said SBC President Jim Light.
The garden follows a strict organic growing policy, banning the use of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.
Councilman Nehrenheim hopes to use the Alta Vista Community Garden as a pilot program for community gardens throughout Redondo.
“We’re gonna do this everywhere,” he said. “This is a trendsetter.”
Following the ceremony, families of planting bed renters rushed to ready their plots. ER
