Our Projects
Pigeon River Garden Club is achieving more with our initiatives than ever before, and we are very proud of the progress we continue to make. Below are some of our most recent projects. Learn more about what we do, who we help, and how we work every day to create a lasting impact.
For the latest on our projects, check out the updates on our Garden Talk blog.
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Beautification
Revitalizing Space
Many of our projects involve creating or revitalizing public landscapes. We clean up and restore the grounds of schools and libraries, create new historic monuments, as well as plant and care for flower pots on Canton's Main Street.
All or our projects focus on making landscapes more sustainable, using native plants, erosion and flood control measures. We are always looking for new opportunities to restore and create new community spaces.
These include:
--Canton Library
--Meadowbrook Elementary
--SilverBluff
--The Community Kitchen
--Canton Middle School
--Downtown Canton
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Education
Empowering Others
Our neighbors are often challenged by poor soil conditions, steep slope, invasive plants or erosion issues. We offer a wealth of knowledge and experience in growing sustainable in our mountains.
Our members have strong background in planning, building and operating sustainable gardens and landscapes. We partner with school and community organizations to create outdoor classrooms and teaching gardens. We off er free native planting and care instruction at many community events.
Our Pigeon River Orchard and Public Garden has a Teaching Pavilion that serves as an outdoor classroom for local schools and youth groups. Our new outdoor classroom can be used by groups who wish to use the space for their groups (yoga, art, music, and more). If you are interested in using the classroom, you can follow the link below to inquire.
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Community Outreach
Helping Those Who Need Us Most
We do our best work when we join with our neighbors in community partnerships. We have our best fun when we join in community events and celebrations. You may see our club at the Milltown Farmers Market, at Haywood festivals and on the best floats in local parades.
We love fun projects such as the Canton Scarecrow Trail and the Haywood Ice Festival. Our Pigeon River Orchard and Public Garden offers an outdoor event space for community gatherings.
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Food Security
Transforming Lives
Haywood County has more agricultural acreage than any other county in Western North Carolina. Yet we also have high levels of food insecurity, particularly due to the impacts of Pactiv Evergreen mill closure, Covid, and Tropical Storm Fred. Families used to maintain gardens, but many have lost the land and skills needed to sustain them.
We create and support community gardens that grown to give fresh produce to our neighbors. Our gardens use organic practices and companion planting methods that produce multiple harvests per year. We build planing beds, terraces and grow frames that take advantage of any available space. We can even grow in parking lots with free standing beds and containers.
Our Pigeon River Orchard and Public Garden grows fruits, vegetables, herbs and teas free to all our neighbors.