Members of a local church recently turned a vacant lot on their Los Osos property into a community garden, which they unveiled on April 18.
“Once we got the garden going, people just kind of showed up and said, ‘Oh you know, we want to be involved, or I want a garden bed,’” Trinity Educational Community Garden manager Scott Danielson said.
The church saw a need for a community garden after a similar plot in Baywood closed. Appointed pastor Les Lungren said the church sat with the property empty for more than 20 years.
“The church came to the agreement that it would be good to use half of that piece as good stewards,” Lungren said.
The garden has 30 beds that people can rent for $100 a year. Father and son Eric and Nate Everitt also donated two greenhouses to the garden that are in the process of being constructed.
Other features include a memorial orchard, where people can purchase a fruit tree in honor of a loved one; a compost and earthworm area; and a garden shed. A memorial seating and educational area is also planned.
Everyone who attended the grand opening received a ticket for the chance to win access to a free gardening bed for one year.
Connecting to the residents of Los Osos and beyond is important to the church, Lungren said, something the garden will help with.
“It’s more than just a community garden,” Lungren said. “It’s a place of learning, it’s a place of community, it’s a place of sharing, and it’s a place where people can just come and enjoy gardening.”
During the grand opening, Master Gardener Ann Newland conducted an herb presentation. In the future, Danielson wants to do a talk on how to use earthworms to provide nutrients to the soil.
Danielson went to Cal Poly and graduated in 1984 with a degree in ornamental horticulture. He worked in nurseries and landscaping for several years and went back to Cal Poly to get his teaching credentials. He then worked as an elementary school teacher for 22 years.
After retiring, he was interested in having a community garden space—gardening’s been a hobby of his throughout his life—and he got involved with the Estero Bay Community Garden in Morro Bay. When people at the local church became interested in a community garden, it was his opportunity to hone his passion for gardening. He’s been a member of the church for more than 30 years and was asked to be the manager of the garden.
Danielson said that those who bought a bed are a mix of members and nonmembers of the church.
“That’s a big goal of our church to be a resource to the community beyond just a Sunday service,” Danielson said. “We didn’t just want it to be just a church thing. We really did not want that.”
The garden was built with the community’s help, including the Morro Bay High School Key Club. Club members volunteered to build the beds, which came in a kit, and Danielson said the high schoolers were lots of help.
The Kiwanis Club of Bay Osos also made donations to the project.
Los Osos resident Joe Asire, along with Bruce Powers, set up the drip irrigation system, which collects water from the roofs of the church buildings to water the plants.
Appointed pastor Lungren provided the vision for the garden.
“That’s actually what a lot of pastors in charge of Methodist churches [do],” Lungren said. “We look at what’s going on in churches; we look at their vision; we look at their ministry. And this church has been so community-minded for so long.”
Fast facts
• Dream Makers SLO is launching the Dream Dog of SLO fundraising contest with There Does Not Exist Brewery. People can submit pictures of their dog for a chance to have their dog’s likeness put on a label of a limited edition beer based on votes. People can buy votes for $1 each. To enter a photo of a dog, there is a $20 donation required, which includes 20 votes. The proceeds from the competition will go to Dream Makers SLO, a nonprofit that works with terminally ill adults in the county to fulfill their wishes. The competition runs through May 31.
• Paso Robles High School junior Christian Serna received a $10,000 scholarship to study music at Cuesta College. Serna was just one of four recipients and had to audition in a live concert. Serna started playing trombone in his sophomore year and rose to be one of the top high school musicians in the area. ∆
Reach intern Katy Clark at ntintern@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in April 23-30, 2026.