Garden of Hope

The Garden of Hope is a community garden on the Duarte campus of City of Hope that's open to patients, employees, visitors, and the greater community. It is a space aligned with the Nourishing Hope philosophy of promoting the connection between nutrition and well-being. The garden allows anyone to be a part of growing and harvesting fresh, healthy, clean food, get to know each other better, and develop a hands-on hobby. Located near the intersection of Buena Vista St. and Village Road, the garden is completely volunteer-driven. The garden is sponsored in part by the Department of Community Benefit and the City of Hope - Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Partnership.
 
 

Mission

Improve mental and physical wellness through urban agriculture, education, and recreation.
 

Edible Gardens

Garden of Hope currently has two edible gardens on the Duarte campus. The edible gardens are the only interactive gardens on campus and are maintained by garden volunteers. The edible gardens demonstrate small-scale edible gardens in the urban built environment.
 
 
Garden of Hope Community Garden (Main garden)
Garden of Hope Community Garden was built in Fall 2018. The garden is ever-changing and consists of mostly seasonal edibles. The garden features 14 raised vegetable beds, a pollinator garden, hydroponics, vermicomposting, greenhouse, compost, California native garden, and more under 3,000 sq ft. The space is open to visitors from sunset to sunrise and available to volunteers during designated volunteer hours.
 
Garden of Hope-- City Cafe Garden
Garden of Hope has expanded with a second garden outside City Café. The Garden of Hope "North" at the City Café is maintained by volunteers, mainly staff from the Nourishing Hope food services department. This garden expansion allows more people of the City of Hope community to access the farm-to-table idea of local, healthy food. The garden consists of 9 beds all featuring edible plants planted and harvested by volunteers.
 

AmeriCorps Partner Site

In 2019, Garden of Hope became an AmeriCorps volunteer infrastructure project site under the City of Duarte. An AmeriCorps volunteer infrastructure project helps strengthen a nonprofit's impact through volunteer engagement. Each project site is assigned an AmeriCorps Fellow who develops a system to recruit, train, support, and manage volunteers for a new program. The AmeriCorps Fellow helps lead all volunteer-related projects that help Garden of Hope grow as a program. For more information, visit https://americorps.gov
 

Volunteer at the Garden (Garden Club)

 
Garden Volunteers
Garden of Hope is a volunteer-driven garden supported by internal and external volunteers that make up the Garden Club. Garden Club members, also referred to as "garden sprouts", assist with daily garden tasks needed to support the garden's mission. Tasks include watering, propagation, transplanting, community events, and more. The produce that is harvested is distributed among volunteers, patients and the City of Hope cafeteria. All are welcomed to participate, and no experience is required. Garden volunteers are led by our AmeriCorps fellow and horticulturist.
 
Prospective volunteers are strongly encouraged to rsvp at least 24hrs before volunteering. Garden materials will be provided.
 
Garden Volunteer Hours*
Spring/Summer Hours
Monday/Friday: 7:30-12PM & 4:00-Sunset
Wednesday: 7:30-12pm
Saturdays (2nd & 4th of month): 7:30-12pm
*Volunteering times are seasonal and are subject to change.
 
COVID-19 Update: Garden volunteering is limited to the COH community until further notice. All volunteers and visitors must wear masks, maintain social distancing, and must be free of symptoms while at City of Hope.
 
 
Community Education Volunteers
Are you skilled in any gardening or food preservation topics? Are you interested in community education? In addition to hands-on agriculture, Garden of Hope also seeks to improve communities through its community education events. Garden of Hope seeks volunteer educators to help teach the community on gardening, cooking, and food preservation-related topics. Events are mainly virtual and attended by the City of Hope and City of Duarte community.
 
COVID-19 Update: All community education volunteering opportunities will be virtual until further notice.  
  
For more information or to rsvp to volunteer contact nchawkins@coh.org
 

Upcoming Events

 
May 1-30 Mini Plant Sale 
Support the garden and take a vegetable plant with you. Purchase a plant seeded and raised by the Garden of Hope community.  
 
June 21-27 Pollinator Awareness Week  
Come in during garden’s volunteer hours and help with pollinator restoration-related projects in the garden. City of Hope community welcomed to participate. All volunteers will receive free pollinator garden seeds. COVID-19 screening, masks, and RSVP are required to volunteer. 
 
June 24, 4-5pm--Pollinator and Gardening Celebration 
Celebrate pollinators and summer gardening virtually with Garden of Hope. Learn about pollinators and how to support them in your garden from community experts. RSVP by June 23rd to be entered in drawing for a chance to win pollinator gifts from the garden. To RSVP or more information contact amelgozacalderon@coh.org 
   
August/September (TBA)- Summer Garden Party  
Celebrate late summer harvests virtually with the community with the Garden of Hope. Enjoy the summer with activities, educational presentations, and entertainment inspired by Garden of Hope. 
 

Employee Wellness Collaboration (Virgin Pulse)

City of Hope employees are able to earn more benefits for volunteering at the Garden of Hope. Volunteer for 30mins and earn up 200 points/ month toward rewards. Volunteers must sign-in and out and require brief garden orientation prior to claiming rewards. Employees can register and claim their rewards through Virgin Pulse at  join.virginpulse.com/CityofHope.
 

Learn More about Gardening

  1. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources: https://ucanr.edu/Focus_Areas/
  2. The Farm at the Fairplex: https://fairplex.com/aboutus/farm
  3. UC Master Food Preserver Program: http://mfp.ucanr.edu/
  4. Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture: https://www.cpp.edu/~agri/
  5. Eco Urban Gardens: http://ecourbangardens.org