At the most fundamental level, the philosophy of The Legacy Garden is to mimic the natural world. Growing food is not an inert manufacturing process, but a stewarding of a vital, living system. This means it is vital to see each component of the garden — the soil microorganisms, the sun, the air, the water, the seeds — as essential parts of our system. Then, it is the coordination of all these parts into a whole that achieves plant growth and yummy food!

The Ben D. Johnson Educational Center works tirelessly with the desire to transform lives and build community through education and food. With this in mind, we created the Legacy Garden. Our crops grow in abundance without the use of pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, or any other synthetic chemicals that could harm our neighbors or the delicate ecosystem that lives within the garden and its soil.

In addition to providing accessible fresh food, our garden functions as a ‘living classroom’ for the students in the LWD Program. Our students are not the only ones who get to learn in the Legacy Garden. We have a small, outdoor classroom that serves as a space for community members to gather for workshops, food demonstrations, and nutrition classes. We have partnerships with groups, like the LSU AgCenter, the City of Natchitoches, and the Good Food Project, where expert gardeners and nutritionists from these organizations conduct workshops. Past workshops have included how to plan your fall garden, start seeds, and transplant.

While we have 13 raised beds that produce food for our café, corner store and meals for our students. There are an additional 7 beds devoted exclusively to growing food for our neighbors. They are publicly accessible and we have an open-harvest policy. When the crops in these beds are ready for harvest, our neighbors can stop by and harvest the goodies themselves and their families.