On a hot July evening, club members were privileged to tour the Millvale Community Garden, located at 15 Butler Street in Millvale. Denise Rudar was our tour guide, and she has been instrumental in working / planning the gardens since their inception in 2010. See pictures at end of notes.
The community garden encompasses both sides of the street. The raised beds are available for rent (has been free as of 2020, previously charged $40). There is a raised bed garden and a gathering area on the right side, which is used a lot by the community to come read, or have an impromptu picnic. This is courtesy of 2 plots of land where homes that needed to be torn down, due to flooding from Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The land became FEMA property, which then reverted back to Millvale. The community decided that the land should be designated as a community garden. There is also a shed which Grow Pittsburgh helped to build, that has solar panels on it, which are used to power all of the lawn equipment used to maintain the garden. The tools and equipment stored in the shed are available for use by any of the plot owners.
There were another 2 plots of land, also FEMA property which reverted back to Millvale, which has become the orchard with fruit trees and berry bushes, as well as “weeds” which are foraged by some avid gardeners.
On the left side is a hoop house which was constructed in 2013 as a result of a grant, 2 garden plots and several raised beds. There was a fire in 2009 where 7 homes were burned down in one night. The community garden committee approached Millvale about using the land to extend the community garden and through a lot of effort to track down owners and purchase the land, Millvale now owns.
Millvale is considered a food desert, meaning there is no walkable grocery store in Millvale. The 2 garden plots and 10 plots plus any abandoned raised beds are being used as an urban farm to grow organic produce, which is then distributed to the community through pop ups in conjunction with the library. They raise money by taking in donations at the pop ups. They also partner with local businesses in the area to provide them with locally grown produce, to be used by the business. They’ve also held cooking classes in the community center, pre COVID, and are hoping to start those back up again.
If a community member is interested in starting a garden in one of the plots, there is an orientation where they are instructed in the rules of use for the garden, including language when in the garden. Over the years, various scout projects have been done to help expand the garden.
Our next meeting will be a tour of the Reilly Garden, at 146 Wescott Dr, Pittsburgh, PA 15237. This was one of the gardens on the Shaler garden tour, and truly impressive.
Denise Rudar, Coordinator & Volunteer. 
Raised beds, wooden border, showing sample of what gardeners choose to grow
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| Herb garden with rain barrels right |
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| Mary Ann showing a container for plant sale sticks |
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| Most of the touring members |
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| Peaches in the community orchard for everyone's use |
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| Cold hardy kiwi |
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| Flowers and vegetables across the road from original garden |
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| Cherry tomatoes, tall plant ~ 5 ft tall |
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| Raised barrel beds |
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| Denny with various plants including large zucchini next to back fence |
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