Community

Two years ago Elizabeth Dry was just a teacher with a dream. Tired of seeing countless students heading down a path toward teenage pregnancy and drug use, Dry envisioned a place where East Dallas youth could channel their energy and time into something greater than themselves. Today, Dry’s vision has become the Promise of Peace Community Garden on East Grand Avenue.

Dry had an inspiring vision, but it wasn’t until she received a $10,000 grant from the City of Dallas’ Loving My Community (LMC) program that her vision started to become a reality. Thanks to the LMC seed money, Dry was able to secure a lease on the East Grand property and buy the planting beds and supplies she needed to build her garden and community center.

In addition to real estate and hardware, the LMC grant also provided Dry with the financial backing she needed to effectively solicit additional support. Supported by the City of Dallas, Dry subsequently secured funding from a wide array of local businesses and non-profits, including raised planting beds from Burpee, playhouses from the Dallas Arboretum, and a greenhouse and tool shed from Shared FUEL, among others.

Today, the Promise of Peace Community Garden is contributing to a community revival in East Dallas. Garden participants include homeowners from the Hollywood Heights and Lakewood Hills neighborhoods, renters from the apartment complexes flanking the garden, teachers and their classrooms from nearby Mata Elementary and even residents from the Lakewood and White Rock Lake communities who don’t mind the short drive so that they can grow their own fresh produce.

Additionally, through events such as Eco Festival, Chili Cook-off’s, Lettuce Be United and Junior Master Gardeners programs, the Garden promotes not only gardening, but healthy communities as well. One example of how Dry educates young gardeners in sustainability is through “The Three Sisters,” a Native American gardening principle. The technique uses corn to provide support for climbing beans and squash plants to give shade to other plants’ roots. In this way, “The Three Sisters” shows how differences complement each other.

By encouraging greater interaction among East Dallas’s diverse communities and promoting the values of preservation, sustainability and diversity, the Promise of Peace Community Garden is well on its way to achieving its intended purpose.

The Promise of Peace Community Garden is a uniquely Dallas success story. Thanks to an outspoken visionary, a compassionate community and the City of Dallas’s Loving My Community grants program, the residents of East Dallas have succeeded in making a meaningful, positive impact on their community.