Cultivating Community Gardens with the Florida Headwaters Foundation

Have you ever been on a really good tour with an incredibly knowledgeable guide? 

The kind where you’re captivated not only by the tour itself, but by the insights unfolding around every corner. 

The kind where you actually feel like you’re living the experience, not just observing a simulation of it.

That’s pretty much how we feel about our not-for-profit partners at the Florida Headwaters Foundation. Not just because they provide enlightening Eco Tours every month (which they do), but because of what they share with our residents and visitors. As Sunbridge continues to become a model for how communities can live side by side with nature, their knowledge reminds us that there’s an entire ecosystem of irreplaceable native plants and animals right here.

More importantly, they inspire us to keep doing what we’re doing.

A big reason this mighty little organization offers so much is because of educator and program curator, Melissa Robinson. She’s the organization’s first employee, and the only thing that matches her knowledge of our region’s native flora and fauna is her passion for sharing it.

We caught up with Melissa for this month’s blog. It’s part Q&A, part nature-geek-out session. We hope you’ll enjoy it!

Current Programming & Events

“We are still growing. It’s just me right now running the whole show,” Melissa tells us, which is actually a lot considering the Foundation currently has three regular programs running each month:

• Eco Tours: Bus rides and walking tours that bounce residents throughout Sunbridge.
• Little Explorers: Monthly programs featuring games and eco-focused learning activities for children ages 3–7.
• Feature Fridays: Monthly screenings of nature documentaries presented by Del Webb Sunbridge.

“Being an outdoors person can just mean that you like to sit on your porch in the morning and drink your coffee and listen to the birds chirp, and then you go back inside.”

That philosophy comes through in the curriculum Melissa has built from the ground up, giving residents and visitors a variety of ways to connect with nature, whatever that looks like for them.

And that variety is by design, not necessity.

“I think everyone, honestly, is an outdoors person to an extent, and I want to be able to provide an avenue for whatever that ends up being.”

Getting Your Hands Dirty

Visit the Foundation’s website and you’ll find plenty of ways to explore the outdoors, learn something new and, most importantly, put conservation into action. It’s particularly evident in the initiatives bringing Sunbridge residents into the community garden.

With Robinson and the Foundation’s guidance, Sunbridge also boasts a Food Forest, which sounds exactly like what it is. But it didn’t just sprout up overnight. Choosing the right combination of plants and trees is a thoughtful process, and according to Melissa, one of the most rewarding parts.

“Every month we have group discussions about what we want to plant, how we want to plant it – any kind of combination of trees to understory plants to ground cover, vines, trellises, raised beds.” 

This is where Melissa’s expertise and enthusiasm are both on full display.

“Drawing out the design, looking at blueprints, picking out the plants together, and then planting them, taking care of them, waiting to see a harvest from it,” says Robinson. “It’s like it was your own baby in a way. And then when you actually do see a harvest from it, it’s just that much more satisfying.”

The Foundation also hosts several Composting for Beginners workshops throughout the year. These sessions are more than a novelty. They break down – yes, pun intended – the perceived complications of composting and show residents that turning organic waste into something useful is a lot easier than it sounds. 

In a world where subscription plans and service fees seem to be everywhere, composting offers a simple way for residents to take back a little control.

From establishing roots to nurturing them, the Foundation hopes to impart another perspective on Sunbridge residents: It’s all connected. Robinson feels there’s no better way to understand that concept than to get involved and get your hands a little dirty.

“When we see ourselves as a part of a system, and our actions are something that affects that system, it makes us take more personal responsibility in maintaining that system responsibly.”

Looking Ahead

The future of Sunbridge’s Food Forest is about growing both its biodiversity and its footprint, with plans for more food forests dotted throughout Weslyn Park and beyond. 

Robinson says those goals are championed by Foundation co-founder Greg Noonan, an established food forest expert, and she hopes that one day Sunbridge’s Food Forest will eventually become self-sustaining.

The vision is simple: Residents could one day swing by a Sunbridge Food Forest while walking the trail network, pick an avocado or mango and continue on their way.

While admittedly that vision is still a ways off, Robinson feels it’s achievable because Sunbridge has already seen success with conservation-focused initiatives in other areas. And those successes show that ideas like community gardens, food forests and composting don’t have to be unique to Sunbridge. They can serve as a model for how communities can incorporate conservation into everyday life on a larger scale.

How to Get Involved

Another way Sunbridge is becoming a model for conservation is through the Foundation’s growing volunteer network. Robinson says their involvement has been integral to spreading awareness and keeping programs like the community garden thriving.

“We have volunteers go out once a month, every first Saturday of the month, and we just consistently work together on building it up so that the system one day can sustain itself.”

So, what makes a good volunteer? Robinson brought us back full circle: It starts with simply loving the outdoors, without worrying about whether you’re an “outdoors person.”

If that sounds like you, or if you’re simply looking for a way to support local conservation, check out upcoming volunteer opportunities at the Florida Headwaters Foundation website.

More Stories to Come

Like any great tour with an incredibly knowledgeable guide, we didn’t want our time with Melissa Robinson to end. Luckily, there was more ground to cover than could fit into a single blog.

We’ll be bringing you more on the Foundation, its partnership with Sunbridge and the many other ways residents can make an impact in the coming months. Consider this just the beginning of the tour.

What’s Happening