Several dozen people gathered Saturday, Sept. 6, on Washington Street to mourn the loss of a community garden that volunteers and neighbors said had provided food, peace and belonging to Carbondale residents for more than a decade.

The Washington Street Garden, once filled with sunflowers, vegetables and gathering spaces, was demolished in late August after the property owner ended the lease held by Carbondale residents and volunteers. The memorial gave residents, volunteers and organizers a chance to honor what the garden meant and to share dreams for what may come next.

“It’s pretty devastating,” said Paige Preston, who has lived near the garden for years. “It’s heartbreaking that it’s over, but it’s even more heartbreaking that the way that it ended has made it harder for us to rebuild. But I think seeing everyone come out, I think it was empowering. There’s hope to rebuild, but also a lot of devastation. So, mixed emotions.”

For more than a decade, the Washington Street Garden was a communal place for organizing, learning and sharing food. Volunteers from the Carbondale Food Autonomy organization grew fruits and vegetables, hosted herbal medicine workshops and welcomed neighborhood families alongside SIU students who came for community service and often kept returning.

Preston first connected with the garden more than 10 years ago. For her and her children, it was more than a food source.

“For me, it was a safe haven, a safe place for me and my children and other children in the community,” she said. “Even if it was just for a little bit, it gave us peace. And it provided power and sustainability to different families, not just in this neighborhood, but throughout Carbondale.”

Those memories echoed across Washington Street on Saturday, where former gardeners, neighbors and volunteers shared how the space shaped their lives. For many, the loss wasn’t just about the plants or the plots, it was about losing a classroom, a community and a resource. 

“Lots of students from SIU would come as part of their service thing,” said Sarah, a longtime volunteer who did not provide the Daily Egyptian with a last name. “But then they would come here and learn about different plants, learn about plant communities, learn about cultivation. Sometimes they would keep coming back.”

At its height, residents said, the garden provided much more than produce. It was a place to garner knowledge, skills and belonging.

Organizers of the memorial described the event as a kind of “garden funeral.”

“The ecocide of the property itself inspired the memorial,” said Lurch, one of the caretakers who did not provide a last name. “We wanted to honor all of the life that was lost in this space, not just the plants and trees, but the birds, pollinators and the human life that spent time here. It was important to acknowledge the beauty that happened here and to make space for dreams of our future.”

Sarah said the garden had always been a “third space” in Carbondale — a place that was free, open and welcoming.

“Like when anybody that you love dies, you grieve,” she said. “I had never been to a garden funeral before, but this was that kind of space. It was beautiful, and it was free to be in, surrounded by parking lots and broken-down buildings.”

For more than a decade, the Washington Street Garden was a communal place for organizing, learning and sharing food. Volunteers grew fruits and vegetables, hosted herbal medicine workshops, and welcomed neighborhood families alongside SIU students who came for community service and often kept returning.

“Lots of students from SIU would come as part of their service thing,” Sarah said. “But then they would come here and learn about different plants, learn about plant communities, learn about cultivation. Sometimes they would keep coming back.”

At its height, residents said, the garden provided much more than produce. It was a place of knowledge, skills and belonging.

The garden’s loss came earlier than expected. The land was privately owned by a Murphysboro man who also owns the now-closed Center for Empowerment and Justice, a Carbondale nonprofit that provided resources for court support, housing assistance and re-entry services to individuals transitioning from incarceration.

Organizers said he told them in June that the lease would end after the growing season and discouraged planting, but they believed they would have until October to clear the lot. Instead, heavy machinery arrived in late August and leveled the site.

“It was such a hot and dry season,” said Adriane, another organizer. “Even if we had the time we needed, we couldn’t have physically moved everything. Roots were breaking in the ground.”

When the empowerment center closed in July, a large homelessness encampment sprang up near the garden. Without resources like restrooms, tensions grew. Organizers said the property owner received numerous city code violations and believe he simply chose to cut ties.

“From the outside, people may have looked at it as overgrown,” Lurch said. “But we were already being pushed out of here. There was no chance of saving it.”

Though residents tried to purchase the property, organizers said the owner refused to sell. 

Though the Washington Street Garden is gone, members of Carbondale Food Autonomy, the grassroots collective that managed it, say their work is far from over.

The CFA, along with Women for Change and other community gardens across Carbondale, also oversees the Red Hen Garden on Carbondale’s northeast side. They plan to shift focus to that space and continue community events.

Sarah said the organization is already preparing for its annual seed exchange in February and a tree giveaway in April.

“What we know is coming next is replanting somewhere else,” she said. “We will rebuild.”

For Preston, the spirit of the garden will live on in whatever comes next.

“One thing this garden represented was that it didn’t matter where you were from—everyone was welcome,” she said. “I hope that same vibe continues when we try and make a new one.”

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