LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It's a hot, humid day after an unusually dry summer week. Sarah Sammons worked her way through the Shelby Park Community Garden, patting rain barrels near a padlocked tool shed.
"A typical rainstorm, you can fill one of these up in an hour," she said, patting a blue barrel. "We get these donated to us from Heaven Hill and Brown-Foreman."
The donations are one way The Soil and Water Conservation District stretch their small budget. Sammons is the district board chair. They're responsible for the rain barrels at the garden, along with more across the city.
The district also hands out state vouchers for soil testing at home, helps people apply for farming licenses, secures state and federal grants for the city and promotes conservation education. One technique they teach is crop covering.
"A lot of plants take up nitrogen, and a lot of cover crops put that nitrogen back in so you don't have to artificially put it in the soil," Sammons explained. "Having healthy soil, even if it is in the middle of a city, is increasingly important because we need to be able to grow food."
Sammons won her seat on the seven-person conservation board back in 2020, and since then they've received the same amount of money from the city of Louisville, but faced a dire challenge this June.
They said the budget Mayor Craig Greenberg originally proposed, $30,000, would have effectively eliminated the Conservation District. But after some pushback during this budget cycle, Metro Council decided to give them the original amount—$113,000.
It's pushback that changed the mayor's mind.
"I did a lot of listening after we proposed the budget," he said. "I fully support the full-funding of the Soil and Water Conservation District. I look forward to working with them through our parks department."
Renewed support means community gardeners like Chelsea Avery, who waters her heirloom tomatoes on the way home from dental school, can keep weathering the weather.
"We've been having a drought lately," she said. "And because I don't live around here, the only way that I get water is through these rain barrels. When they run out, I honestly don't know what to do."
For Sammons, living in harmony with nature has its advantages.
"Not only can you sustain yourself by eating great food and fresh food, but you can also sustain your loved ones," she said. "You can also sustain your health by being outside more often. There's all kind of benefits to it."
Benefits she hoped budding gardeners see while asking for the district's help along the way.
And with new quarterly reporting requirements with the revived funding, Metro Council will be watching to see what grows.
With the budget scare this year, Sammons hoped to pass a millage tax to fund the district's work in the future. That's a per-dollar tax on property values, which would be less than a penny for every $100 in tax paid.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.