– Editor’s note:
Yelm will join the national trend with the city’s First Community Garden”
“Bounty for Families” presents the Yelm Community Garden program!
The first one will be located in the Yelm City Park by the Community Center.
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– “Fight Crime With Gardens”
Story at-a-glance
* In U.S. cities, about 15 percent of land sits vacant or abandoned; these spaces are associated with increased crime and stress to residents, especially in low-income neighborhoods

* Researchers “greened” abandoned lots, cleaning up trash and debris, grading the land, planting grass and trees to create a park-like setting and installing a low wooden fence around the perimeter to signal that the lot was being cared for

* Significant benefits were reported due to the greened lots, including a significant reduction in gun violence, burglaries and nuisances, with the latter two falling by 22 percent and 30 percent respectively

* In neighborhoods below the poverty line, the transformed lots reduced overall crime by more than 13 percent and gun violence by nearly 30 percent

* Residents also reported significant benefits, including feeling 58 percent less fearful of going outside due to safety concerns
By Dr. Mercola.
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