The Daisy Sonju Community Garden & Pea Patch at Sonju Park became Des Moines newest park earlier this summer.

"There is a lot of community interest," said Kim Richmond, who donated over 200 hours to prepare the gardens. "Every month we get another person interested in a pea plot, and now there's a wait list."

The property was originally donated by Daisy Sonju in 1996, and a master plan was drawn up a couple of years after, but a lack of a plan and funding left the property to stagnate.

It was not until last July that the project was organized and Richmond became the project manager. "With my love of gardening and growing things, it seemed like a natural fit," Richmond stated. "It was a project waiting for a manager and I was lucky enough to do it."

Since then, over 800 hours of volunteer work have been put into the project by more than 150 community members. Most of those people are local residents, but some have come from as far away as Seattle, Richmond said.

Though her position is unpaid, Richmond has helped not only to clear land for the plots, but she also has researched existing community gardens.

As in Federal Way and Seattle, all community garden crops can be donated to the local food bank.
"Our garden is a hybrid," Richmond said, explaining how each person who tends a pea patch will have the option to keep their bounty or to donate it.

The 9.3 acres of land has been converted over the last couple of years into a community garden and orchard right in the backyard of Des Moines at 24728 16th Ave. S.

Before that it had not attracted much attention due to the lot being overgrown and lacking any sort of entrance.

But new leadership was not the only thing that helped to revitalize this effort. Shortly after Richmond joined the project, Sonju Park decided to partner with a group called Healthy Eating, Active Living (HEAL).

HEAL is a program that promotes healthy food and living choices in local communities across the nation. The local branch that has partnered with Sonju Park services Southwest King County, including SeaTac, Burien, Normandy Park and Des Moines. Policy Analyst Sue Anderson is the HEAL staff member involved with the park project.

At the moment, Sonju has no on-site parking or bathrooms, so there are no large-scale programs planned, Richmond explained. However, as they continue to restore the area and develop it, it is very possible that they could host programs there in the future.

Also, Richmond says that she is excited about the park being used as an outdoor classroom, but says that idea will also have to wait for now. Instead, Richmond is setting her sights to a nearer future for Sonju. The community building and exchange of ideas between the gardeners who tend the pea patches has revealed an interest in restoring the creek that used to run through the property.

For more information about HEAL, the Communities Putting Prevention to Work Initiative, and related issues, see "http://letsdothiskingcounty.org/" and "http://www.healthykingcounty.org/".