Welcome to the CMNMG

The Charles Madison Nabrit Memorial Garden (CMNMG) was founded by Paula Penn-Nabrit alongside her sons and nephews in 2014. It is a community garden located at the Church of Apostolic faith in East Linden, Ohio. The purpose of the garden is not only to honor the memory of her late husband Charles Nabrit after whom the garden is named, but to also foster genuine connections between those involved in the garden alongside educational opportunities.

Her sons, volunteers from the church, student groups and classes from the Ohio State University all work together to make visiting the garden a welcoming and educational experience. The garden offers free classes for children as well as a farmers market where produce is sold for $1 per pound. On Saturdays throughout the growing season the garden is open to anyone who would like to visit and volunteer or learn more about agriculture, community gardens, food insecurity, STEM learning, and a variety of other topics.

Named 2015 Community Garden of the Year and selected as one of 12 Hub Gardens in Central Ohio by Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, CMNMG was created as a living legacy to Charles Madison Nabrit’s commitment to holistic health, self-­determination, education and community service.

Our mission is to:
(1) increase affordable access to organic produce;
(2) increase awareness of the spiritual and cultural connections to gardening within black and brown communities;
(3) increase children’s exposure to functional STEM studies; and
(4) increase economic self­-sufficiency and sustainability in the garden, in our homes and in our community.

The CMNMG is a 3,850 square foot, organic, bio­diverse, self­-sustaining space behind a church housing an historic, 105+ year­-old, predominantly black congregation, descendents of the African diaspora to the Americas. Our hashtags speak to our spiritual and cultural heritage: #HeStartedUsinaGarden and #WeCameHeretoCultivate. The USDA Economic Research Service highlights CMNMG’s zip code, 43219 as “low income, low access” where 33% of the households are low income, 13.2% are without access to a car and the distance to the two nearest supermarkets (Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods) is 4.3 miles.