Nationals outfielder Alex Call never noticed the garden that overlooks the baseball field.
“I definitely have never noticed. I mean, I’ve walked around even on the concourse a little bit and I guess never bothered to look up to see some of the vines with all of the things growing, but really really cool," Call said.
He’s not alone. Many Nationals Park visitors get caught up in the baseball game, buying hotdogs and searching for their seats in the large music-filled stadium.
But when they do look up above Section 105, they will find a 6,000 square foot space called the Giving Garden.
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Cultivate Founder Niraj Ray asked the Nationals in 2016 if they would be open to a garden after seeing the idea in an article.
“It was just a chance. I had no expectation of them even responding to me,” Ray said.
The day after he reached out, the Nationals team responded saying they were ready to play ball.
“This is taking a space that wouldn’t be used otherwise and now showing people what they can do with their own gardens at home, their balconies, rooftops, whatever space they have,” Ray said.
Now, the garden is marking its second year of growing food for the community and has grown over 800 pounds of produce.
Kimberly Harris, a CareFirst volunteer who was harvesting produce said she always looks for the garden when she visits the stadium. CareFirst works with Building Bridges Across the River (BBAR) and tracks what the garden grows. Some of the produce includes basil, lavender, lettuce and tomatoes.
“Every time I come to a Nats game, I look up at the garden, I know what it is, I know what it’s doing for the people," Harris said.
After the food is harvested, BBAR takes the fruits and vegetables across the bridge into Wards 7 and 8. The two wards are often considered food deserts because there are not a lot of grocery stores nearby that sell healthy foods.
“What we reap today will be sown at the farmers market at no cost or low cost to residents in Wards 7 and 8," Harris said.
Both Call and Screech, the Nationals mascot, quickly embraced the garden. Call did so by cutting flowers and Screech "planted" some seeds.
“It’s a hidden little gem right here,” Call said.
