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A new community garden has sprouted up in Asbury Park.

Three raised garden beds now occupy what used to be empty space in the Acelero Learning Center’s playground area, according to a press release from the school.

Located on Grand Avenue, the learning center offers a free pre-school “Head Start” program for students of low-income families.

Children enrolled in the Head Start program will have access to the “Little Sprouts Community Garden” for hands-on learning experiences at the school, the release said.

“It was something I’ve wanted to do for years,” said Jennifer Bagdanov, a teacher at the learning center and lead member of the project. “We have a huge playground and we had the space for it,” she said.

Funds for the project came from grants provided by the Monmouth County Master Gardeners. Master Gardeners Karin Poorvin and Cheryl Grant also volunteered their time to offer advice and guidance, the release said.

They suggested the raised beds – which provide better drainage for plants – as opposed to planting directly in the ground, Bagdanov said. To get the beds built, she reached out to local Boy Scout troops.

Anthony DeStefano of Eagle Scout Troop 71 in Howell took on the garden as his service project.

“He designed a plan to clear the land and build three raised beds and a fence along the garden,” she said.

Bagdanov also reached out to Home Depot of Neptune for help. They provided a donation of plant, flower, herb and vegetable seeds for two of the beds. Plants that the children had started from seeds in their own classrooms in the spring were planted in the third bed.

Come September, teachers will have access to this space for hands-on learning and the 3 to 5-year-old children enrolled in the Head Start program will see the fruits of their labor grow throughout the year.

“We’ll be teaching them things about the seasons, protecting plants from the cold, what plants can grow in different temperatures,” she said. “This garden will take the children out of the classroom and into the world, teaching them in a way many may not have access to at home.”

As the plants grow over the years, so will the garden.

“There is room for one more bed in the garden,” Bagdanov said. “I would love to get benches in there to use the area as an outdoor classroom, too.”

Future plans for the garden also include the involvement of the student’s families, since most of the children enrolled in the program live in apartments or houses that might not have room for a garden.

“This is the only garden space these families and kids might have,” she said.

Members of the community are invited to celebrate the grand opening of the Little Sprouts Community Garden on Friday, August 9 at 10:30 a.m.

The Asbury Park Acelero Learning Center is located at 907 Grand Ave.

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Photo at top: Students at the Asbury Park Acelero Learning Center take in the garden view. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Bagdanov.

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