URI Master Gardeners serve as mentors and educators to children enrolled in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center’s summer camp program at Newport’s first community garden! The Great Friends Community Garden is located in a vibrant section of Newport off Broadway, within walking distance of the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, low-income housing, RIPTA bus stops, and several restaurants.

The garden is situated on a historic property adjacent to the Great Friends Meeting House built in 1699, which is now owned by the Newport Historical Society. This community garden is a project of Aquidneck Community Table, a non-profit group which aims to improve access to healthy local food for all while fostering awareness and understanding of the vital relationships between health, environment, agriculture and a thriving local economy.

On a weekly basis, students from the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center visit their designated community garden plot. URI Master Gardeners engage with the children and teach them where their food comes from, as well as the basics of botany. The Master Gardeners also help the children tend their plot and show them how to plant, water, harvest, and weed. URI Master Gardeners share their wealth of knowledge and expertise with the diverse group of community gardeners.

Time permitting, URI Master Gardeners will be available to answer questions from the community gardeners and share gardening advice.  If interested, the volunteers may also assist with developing occasional workshops at the community garden.