A variety of native pollinator plants hug the building at the Wanskuck Library in Providence. A fairy garden sits in its front left corner, and raised beds along the side of the building contain fresh basil and tomatoes.
Behind the library, an outdoor classroom is being prepared for the spring. It has a roof to protect from the summer heat, next to an imitation chimney built to attract chimney swifts.
The People’s Garden of Wanskuck is a collaboration between the Wanskuck Library, a branch of the Community Libraries of Providence, and the University of Rhode Island Master Gardener Program. The Master Gardener Program, a volunteer program dedicated to community gardening outreach throughout Rhode Island, has been named 2025 Library Champions of the Year by the Community Libraries of Providence for its efforts.
The URI program uses evidence-based knowledge of sustainable gardening practices to support accessible community gardening throughout Rhode Island, according to its website.
With both groups and volunteers within the Providence community, the garden offers educational resources on sustainable gardening practices, growing fresh produce and native plants in Rhode Island, according to Wanskuck Library manager Denise Brophy.
The Wanskuck Library secured a United States Department of Agriculture People’s Garden grant for $10,000, according to Brophy. After being awarded the grant, she decided to pitch the garden to the Master Gardeners.
The Master Gardeners “adopted” the project in February during the design and construction stages and will provide ongoing support for the next three to five years, according to Brophy. She said she has envisioned the project since she joined the staff in 2012.
“[The project is] exactly what I wanted all those years ago when I first came here,” Brophy said. “The folks in the community deserve to have a beautiful space.”
“It was a really large project and a lot of labor,” the project’s master gardener liaison ,Anthony Riccitelli, said. “We had about four master gardener volunteers that were helping initially, and we were able to develop all of the garden areas in the first three months.”
Master Gardener Ryan Peters said he is excited about the award raising awareness in the community about how much involvement is available. Hailing from a more rural area in the Midwest, he said he enjoys bringing agriculture into urban life.
“It’s a big honor to have our work recognized, but I think for me the more exciting aspect of that recognition is that it will help amplify the mission for the library,” Peters said. “I hope that this can reverberate out and we can amplify this impact by reaching others who don’t really know that these programs exist.”
With most of the planting completed, the next phase of the project involves building an educational program, according to Brophy.
Experts from the Master Gardener Program will be giving lectures and teaching classes about gardening, native pollinators and sustainability.
“People get frightened by growing stuff, but with a little bit of education and a little bit of prompting, you can grow your own vegetables,” Riccitelli said. “One garden is great but 10, 15, 20 is even better.”
More information about gardening education programming can be found on the Community Libraries of Providence website. To learn more about the URI Master Gardeners Program, visit its website.
