By Laura Whitt
Rooted
For the past 45 years, the Northside community has been growing at Troy Gardens. Since the 1980s neighbors have used the land at Troy for community gardens, dog walking, bird watching, and enjoying the natural green space in their neighborhood.
In 1995 the state slated Troy Gardens for development. The local community, who loved the land, responded by coming together with the Northside Planning Council, several land-use nonprofit organizations, and members of the University of Wisconsin-Madison to form the Troy Garden Coalition to advocate for the land.
The coalition developed a plan that included housing, land for agricultural use, and open green space. The plan was accepted by the state in 1998. The land was sold in 2001 to one of the coalition’s member organizations, the Madison Area Community Land Trust, and the community-led development of the site began.
The mixed-income Troy Gardens Cohousing Community was built, Troy Farm was established, and the community gardens and natural areas were expanded and restored. The Friends of Troy Gardens was formed to steward the land. The group later became Community GroundWorks and in 2020 merged to become Rooted.
We’re honored to play our part in the legacy of preserving and caring for the land at Troy, and keeping this space open for everyone in the community to enjoy. Today Rooted manages the urban farm to grow thousands of pounds of organic produce, leads programming for hundreds of students at the Troy Kids’ Garden, and helps manage Troy Community Gardens, the oldest community garden in Madison.
“It has been so meaningful to watch this land grow and evolve over time,” said Ginny Hughes, co-executive director of Rooted, who began working for Community GroundWorks (now Rooted) in 2012 as the Troy Kids’ Garden Manager and lived at Troy Cohousing from 2006–2015. “This place is a true testament to the magic that can happen when a community comes together to make change. This place has been shaped by so many hands, and I’m grateful to be one of the many continuing that work.”
Troy Farm and Gardens remain a place where people grow food, learn, connect and build a shared future — together.
