Breaking New Ground: Your Support Is Taking Root

Last year, our community truly stepped up to help plant the seeds for the Smith Family Education, Agriculture, and Trial (EAT) Garden. Because of your generosity, we got this project off the ground—literally!

We officially broke ground on May 20, 2026. If you drive by the site today, you can see the garden taking shape. We are incredibly proud to be bringing this vision to life and are on track for a December 2026 completion date.

It is amazing to see this framework develop each day, but a garden isn’t really a garden without growth. We are entering our most critical phase and need your help raising the final funds to move from construction to cultivation. Help us fill this space with the fruits, vegetables, and flowers that will define our community’s agricultural future!

E.A.T.

A wide outdoor community garden and gathering space with long black picnic tables under a decorative metal canopy casting patterned shadows across the seating area.

Empowerment through Education (The Education Space):

We want to help our community learn to grow their own food. Through workshops and gardening techniques, this space will be a public classroom—teaching children where food comes from, mastering water-wise landscaping, and building confident local growers.
Wide view of a vibrant community garden with raised metal planting beds lining a broad pathway beneath blooming pink and white flowering trees.

Direct Community Impact (Fighting Agriculture Food Insecurity):

At its heart, this garden exists to feed our neighbors. 100% of the produce grown here will be harvested and donated directly to local organizations tackling food insecurity in Laramie County and across Wyoming, creating a reliable pipeline of fresh, healthy food.
Wide view of a vibrant community garden with raised metal planting beds lining a broad pathway beneath blooming pink and white flowering trees.

Innovation & Climate Resilience (The Trial Garden): 

Gardening in Wyoming takes serious grit. Between our high-altitude sun, relentless winds, and unpredictable weather, the EAT Garden will act as a trial site to test which ornamental and crop varieties survive our unique environment.

Help Us Reach the Harvest

Horticulture Shed – $20,000:

The garden’s operational hub demonstrates a commitment to sustainability with solar power and composting systems.

Wyoming Historical Agriculture Bed – $20,000:

Highlights the history of plants used by migratory groups and early settlers, from yucca fibers to the grains that built Laramie County.

Raised Teaching Beds – $3,500ea (11 of 15 available):

Dynamic space for hands-on education, teaching everything from season extension to hail protection.

Trial Garden Beds – $1,500ea or $30,000 (21 of 21 available):

The epicenter of exploration, testing new cultivars and perennials in Cheyenne’s unique growing conditions.

Bench – $6,000ea (3 of 5 available):

The botanical-inspired benches provide the perfect vantage point along the EAT garden’s edge.

Woodland Way – $20,000:

A shady retreat mimicking a natural forest ecosystem with native plants and meandering paths under a mature tree canopy.

Wyoming Ornamental Windbreak – $10,000:

A “living snow fence” is crucial for erosion control and wildlife habitat, featuring varieties tested at the High Plains Arboretum.

Bioswale Bumps – $2,500 (5 of 5 available):

A demonstration of non-traditional food production managing stormwater while growing edible crops.

Please consider making a donation today and help us bring this vision to life. Together, we can grow something beautiful that nourishes our bodies, enriches our minds, and strengthens our community.

To make your gift, please contact Annie Wood at annie@botanic.org or donate online using the link below. When donating, please note “2026 Annual Appeal” in the comment box.

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