MAMGA Grants

MAMGA supports local gardening activities in several ways:

• By providing Partner Grants to the Dane County Extension Teaching Garden and the University Display Gardens at the West Madison Agricultural Research Station

• By providing support for shared projects with Allen Centennial Gardens, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, and the University of Wisconsin Arboretum

• Through MAMGA Grants to schools, public or non-profit community gardens.

If you are interested in applying for a MAMGA Grant, please complete and submit the form below. Click the buttons to download the application in either format. Applications must be submitted no later than March 1, 2025 via email.

Past projects are listed below.

MAMGA Grant winners in 2020-21

1. Mulch & Compost for Mt. Horeb Community Garden – Howard Himsel Park, Mt. Horeb

Request: $496 Goal: Spread marsh hay and organic matter over all garden plots and the Edible Perennial Landscape area to relieve stress of the community gardeners, diminish weed growth, improve soil moisture and quality, decrease water usage, increase produce yield in the plots and throughout the Edible landscape area.

2. Moorland Community Garden Street/ Curb Beautification Project – Garden adjacent to Water Treatment Plant Moorland Rd., Madison

Request: $495 Goal: Install low maintenance 8-10 ft high and 10-12 ft wide shrubs and flowering plants close to the entrances of the gardens on the street side to discourage passersby from helping themselves to fruits and vegetables grown by those who rent the plots. Currently, gardeners use a variety of non-uniform materials from plastic to wood branches along this 350 foot length, this will present a more uniform appeal to the neighborhood while protecting the produce in the plots.

3. Sun Prairie Garden Organization’s Soil Improvement Project – 1340 Linnerud Dr, Sun Prairie

Request: $500 Goal: Improve the fertility and friability of the soil of all 143 plots for the 2021 growing season. Tasks include soil testing, followed by application and incorporation of cow manure, with placement of marsh hay bales to prevent contaminated runoff from leaving the garden area. Follow up testing to determine soil PH, %OM, N:P:K. Some produce will be donated to local food pantries.

4. Marlborough Park Community Garden Organic Fertility Project – 2222 Whenona Dr, Madison

Request: $500 Goal: Improve the fertility and tilth of the garden by applying compost that is free of pesticides and jumping worms. It will be made available to those who rent garden plots which has always been a success. Due to Madison’s significant increase in water use rates (from $65/mo →$700+/mo), the garden needs funding to do basics such as purchase compost. Information will be posted on their bulletin boards about the value of this compost to gardening efforts.

5. Helping Olbrich’s Ecosystems & Pollinators Survisve: Spring Ephemerals & Bulbs – 3330 Atwood Ave, Madison, WI

Request: $500 Goal: Establish a greater diversity of plants, filling the early spring-gap in food availability for pollinators at Olbrich Botanical Gardens, leading toward sustained biodiversity throughout. Emergence of ephemerals before deciduous tree cover helps to jump start pollinator populations. Availability of nector is especially critical for queen bumble bees, mining and mason bees which exist at Olbrich. Project supports the purchase of plants, spring flowering bulbs and milorganite.

MAMGA Community Garden Grant Winners in 2018-19:

Total Awards = $3000

The grant application period for the Community Services Grant program ran from Oct 1, 2018 through Apr 13, 2019. The following grants were reviewed by a 5 person Community Services Program workgroup who made decisions about the size of the awards. The following are the results.

1. AWARD: $500 Glenn Stephens Elementary School Pollinator Garden – 120 S Rosa Road, Madison, WI 537056
Install a pollinator garden along the front walkway and entrance to the school which complements the existing vegetable garden and outdoor classroom. Purchase plants, mulch, compost and plant identification cards.

2. AWARD: $500 Lapham Community Garden Room to Grow - 1045 E. Dayton St., Madison, WI 53703

The project is to rebuild 16 raised garden beds that are deteriorating and only a few inches in height to 8’ x 4’ x 12” dimensions using cedar boards. The beds will be lined and filled with soil and compost.

3. AWARD: $442 Glendale Elementary School Vermicomposting Project – 1201 Tompkins Dr., Madison, WI 53716

Residual produce waste (apple core, peel, etc) from fresh fruit/vegetable snacks served at the school will be used as source material for lessons in vermicomposting in the classroom and production of compost for the school garden.

4. AWARD: $343 Frank Allis Elementary School Garden Soil Improvements – 4201 Buckeye Rd. Madison, WI 53716

Enhance and rejuvenate the soil of a heavily used school garden by testing soil and adding appropriate amounts of fertilizer. The project includes burning the school prairie by adult volunteers. This adds to the outdoor classroom lesson plans for the season.

5. AWARD: $165 Falk Elementary School Garden: Increasing Access - 6323 Woodington Way, Madison, WI 53711

Fill newly constructed raised garden beds 8’ x 2.5’ x 2’ tall with soil to prepare for the 2019 classroom plans for composting and planting seeds and plants. This will provide better access for students with disabilities and help to keep students cleaner when gardening during the day before returning to the classroom.

NOTE: Falk has carried over $90 from the 2018 MAMGA Community Services grant for this same purpose. Due to rain and lack of full funding ($265) for purchasing soil, they will apply this amount to the 2019 grant effort.

6. AWARD: $435 UW Extension Sustainable Urban Corridor Salt Tolerant Teaching Garden- east end of median at 5201 Fen Oak Dr, Madison, WI 53718.

Transform a 14’ x 25’ strip of the median to salt tolerant pollinator habitat. Salt is from winter road maintenance. The challenge is to have showy, salt tolerant plants less than 2’ in height adapted to this new area of the teaching garden. NOTE: Several grant reviewers expressed concern about the safety of planting, maintaining and teaching at the median while several members had no concern since the median is fairly wide and Fen Oak is a dead end drive and most instruction is provided to adults. The group agreed that safety needs to be taken into account by the grant coordinator.

7. AWARD: $408 WI Heights Community Garden Signage – 813 W. Hudson Street, Mazomanie, WI 53560

Signs with common and botanical names will be made for 10 fruit trees, 4 raised beds, the Food Pantry Garden and Native Plant Prairie. Installation will be completed by garden volunteers.

8. AWARD: $57 Theresa Terrace Neighborhood Center “Kid’s” Garden –

An educational effort with lesson plans for students K-6 to learn about a variety of garden topics including why insects are important, how seeds sprout, the importance of soil, sun and water, etc. A harvest dinner with produce distributed to students and their families is held each year. MAMGA funding this year will focus on rebuilding the fence around the garden.

9. AWARD: $135 Mellowhood in Meadowood –

The Community Garden has a large fence that is falling over. Besides developing a new garden area in 2019 called Three Sisters (corn, beans, pumpkins), the adult volunteers are working with young people to develop and repair infrastructure in the garden. The grant covers hats, gloves, hoes, fencing and paint.

10.AWARD: $58 Edible Perennial Landscaping –

This is an expansion of the Mt. Horeb Community Garden to include protecting newly planted fruit trees (spiral tree guards), and the purchase and planting of asparagus starts, herbs and soil. This project benefits volunteers at the gardens. Residents of the senior center receive produce at harvest. The whole community benefits from the beautification and maintenance of a green space in the village.

11. AWARD: $57 Monarch Teaching Garden –

This is the expansion of a small space where, in 2018, community members pulled out trees at the DeForest library and planted some native plants. Volunteers will purchase soil and native plants, a Way Station sign, butterfly cage for the library so that residents can observe the evolution of caterpillars to butterflies.

MAMGA Community Garden Grant Winners in 2017-18:

WI Heights Community Garden Raised Beds $325

The grant supported the installation of 3 additional raised beds to grow vegetables, herbs, berries, and asparagus. Produce was available to WI Hts gardeners or local food pantries. Gardeners donated a minimum of 6 hours to work on the project.

• Glendale Strawbale Gardens $300

Five organic straw bale garden areas were added to demonstrate the methods and to control weeds that are invading existing garden areas. Various types of gardens, (pizza, salsa, squash and gourd, etc) were implemented.

• Lowell Centennial Garden $300

The grant supported relocating the garden to a sunnier spot and building raised garden beds for each age group, 4K to 5th grades and special needs students. Students learned about growing their own food from start to finish and the healing value of a garden area for those who struggle with physical or mental health issues. Gardens is also be used by art classes.

• Nuestro Mundo – Tools for Learning $275

The grant paid for the purchase of vegetable gardening tools and a rain barrel.

• Vermicomposting at Spring Harbor Middle School $175

he grant is for the purchase of worms and composter equipment and supplies (tea bubbler and moter, activator, etc) and to demonstrate this form of organic composting to 270 students in the school gardens. Compost materials are  gathered by students in the cafeteria.

• Creative Learning Preschool Urban Community Garden $125

The grant supported the expansion of growing vegetables in containers and installed a water collection system including a rain barrel.

MAMGA Community Garden Grant Winners in 2016-17:

• Fitchburg Boys and Girls Club Garden Expansion $300

• Falk Elementary School Garden, Madison $200

• Neustro Mundo Community School rain garden $300

• Wisconsin Heights Community Garden water system $400

• Frank Allis School Heritage Garden $300

MAMGA Community Garden Grant Winners in 2015-16

• Installation of Edible Native Landscaping at Marlborough Community Garden $481

• People + Pollinators Project in Brittingham Community Gardens $416

• Bees, Bugs, and Butterflies! Oh my! Pollinator Garden installation at Troy Gardens $472

• Wisconsin Heights Community Garden Food Pantry Plots $132