KILBOURN GARDEN

2024 garden bed rental are full

All of our garden beds have been rented for this season! Check back at the start of the next growing season in spring 2025. Happy growing!

About Kilbourn garden

The Garden is located on a triangular parcel of land in Kilbourn Park – across North Avenue from the Reservoir. It was started in April, 2009, and has grown to more than 140 garden beds, each tended to by an individual, family or organization in the neighborhood. Most of the raised garden beds are four by eight feet. A bed of that size can supply enough produce for one to two adults. 

A Brief History

The garden was started with the intention of helping people overcome hunger, which, unfortunately, is all too real in Riverwest and nearby neighborhoods. According to a neighborhood survey conducted by the Riverwest Health Initiative in 2006, 21% reported they skipped meals because they couldn’t afford food. By offering a place to grow their own fruits and vegetables, these gardens make a real difference to the health and well-being of the community. The Water Works Department of the City of Milwaukee owns the land where the garden is located. Once the decision was made to decommission the reservoir on North Avenue around 2002, a community-wide planning process took place on how best to use the land. The community park you see now opened in the fall of 2008. It is the result of those meetings.

A Coalition of Support

As of February 2009, an agreement was reached with Water Works and the Milwaukee Department of Public Works for a year-to-year contract for the Garden. After that time, the agreement was renegotiated to a five-year lease. The lease is currently held by Milwaukee Grows, a program of Groundwork Milwaukee, the non-profit group that serves as the Garden’s fiscal agent. Milwaukee Grows also holds leases for more than 80 community gardens in the city. The Kilbourn Park site is their largest garden.

Address

Kilbourn Garden 625-699 East North Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53212