Thanks to all who came out to our 3rd Annual Harvest Celebration!

Board Chair Will Snyder, Golden Trowel Recipient Michael Robinson of Bon Secours Richmond Health System, Executive Director Sally Schwitters, Golden Trowel Recipient & 1st Lady of Virginia Maureen McDonnel, & Golden Trowel Recipient Dr. Morris G. Henderson of the 31st Street Baptist Church.

 Tricycle Gardens Honors First Lady Maureen McDonnell at Third Annual Harvest Celebration

31^st Street Baptist Church and Bon Secours Richmond Health System also recognized for championing gardening in central Virginia

         RICHMOND, Va. (Nov. 8, 2011) – Tricycle Gardens, an environmental nonprofit working to expand access to healthy foods in the urban core of Richmond, honored First Lady Maureen McDonnell Friday, Nov. 4 with a Golden Trowel Award for the community garden she built at the Governor’s Mansion. Tricycle Gardens also honored Dr. Morris G. Henderson of the 31st Street Baptist Church with a Golden Trowel Award for his “soup garden,” and Bon Secours Richmond Health System for the Healing Garden at Memorial Regional Medical Center.

The Golden Trowel Awards recognize individuals, businesses and organizations for changing our food system, increasing food access and helping to improve the environment in central Virginia.  More than 200 attended the annual fundraiser, which was held at Tricycle Garden’s Third Annual Harvest Celebration Fri., Nov. 4, 2011 at the Robinson Theater in Church Hill.

“These individuals and organizations are a shining example of what a community garden can do to increase food access and awareness in Central Virginia,” said Sally Schwitters, executive director, Tricycle Gardens.  “The importance of healthy food choices and availability as well as a connection to the land and being good stewards of our land can not be over emphasized, no matter where you live. The recipients of this year’s Golden Trowel Awards are showing the power of gardens in civic, religious and medical spaces throughout the Richmond area.”

The Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center Healing Garden provides patients, their families and medical center staff a place to relax and simply enjoy nature. Fruit bearing and edible plants are incorporated throughout the landscape to complement other plants that appeal specifically to the senses of sight and smell. Fruits, vegetables and herbs grown in the Healing Garden will be used to prepare nutritious meals for patients and for community health education programs.

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