El Cajon Senior Garden

In 2015, with support from Health and Human Services, we worked with Little House, the El Cajon Collaborative and senior refugees living in the area to design and build a community garden, to bring healthy and culturally relevant food to the neighborhood. Studio Nectary’s role was as design support and community build leader (while a contracted designer and project manager for Rooted In Place).

After a collaborative design workshop with the senior refugee community, we prepared for the first phase of the community build. Volunteers who showed up for a full day of building included high school students from Granite Hills Key Club, San Diego County employees, El Cajon Collaborative members, UPAC Refugee Seniors, Rooted In Place, and friends and family. Storage containers, a vertical garden and garden beds, which were positioned close together for future garden expansion, were donated were constructed in one day. The garden continues to thrive and has evolved into an inter-generational garden with continued support from the Granite Hills Key Club, Molina Healthcare volunteers and the Boy Scouts.