To commemorate our 30th Anniversary, we will be giving away 300 Sonoma Ecology Center Victory Gardens on Saturday, April 25th, 10am-1pm at the Sonoma Plaza Horseshoe.

This gift will allow people to plant gardens with seasonal vegetables, fruit and flowers. Each will contain a mix of young summer squash, cucumbers, melons, sunflowers, peas, and bean plants, as well as tomato, eggplant or pepper plants, organic carrot and spinach seed packets, and biochar samples. 

The plants are being cultivated Sonoma Valley’s Bee-Well Farms, with additional tomato, eggplant and pepper plants donated by Santa Rosa Junior College Horticulture. 

On April 25, the Victory Garden starter packs will be made available to all Sonoma Valley residents on a first-come, first-served basis. We will ask people to stay in their cars and open their trunks to allow us to maintain social distance while distributing at the drive-through event. Delivery is available in Sonoma Valley for those unable to participate. 

For Sonoma Valley residents who don’t have space to plant a garden, Sonoma Ecology Center is also establishing a communal Victory Garden at Sonoma Garden Park, and will share the produce. 

This is one way Sonoma Ecology Center is thanking our local community for 30 years of partnership to enhance and sustain the ecological health of Sonoma Valley.

Victory Gardens were first planted over a century ago to promote independence, food security and healthy eating during wartime. The concept has returned this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hurt Americans economically and caused some stores to run out of fresh food and other provisions. 

“Given that this crisis has massive implications for the world and for our community, Sonoma Ecology Center hopes to bring back the Victory Garden tradition to Sonoma Valley as a way to promote local sustainability and resilience,” — Richard Dale, Executive Director.

As the Victory Gardens grow, we invite you to share your #SECVictoryGarden on social media. For updates on this and other news follow us on Instagram and Facebook at @SonomaEcologyCenter. 

Thank you to the City of Sonoma for offering the Sonoma Plaza for this event and Brenda McNeill for donating artwork for this project!