Ty Syperda can’t wait to eat some spinach that he’s grown himself.

In the recovery program at Springs Rescue Mission, Syperda will be one of the many beneficiaries of the new Dorchester Park Community Garden. The garden, at 1130 S. Nevada Ave., was unveiled on a snowy Wednesday morning, but organizers say it will soon be full of green instead of white.

“I love just getting my hands in the dirt and making things grow,” Syperda said. “It’s calm, it’s relaxing, and I love the outdoors.”

The 60-by-60-foot plot has water, amended soil and a handsome fence. All it needs is plants and gardeners, and the veggies that come up will head for hungry mouths at the Marian House soup kitchen, the Springs Rescue Mission and youth shelter Urban Peak.

“This is going to be organic produce, fresh, local, and going to the people who can enjoy it the most,” said Larry Stebbins, director of Pikes Peak Urban Gardens. “There’s been a lot of goodwill in that garden.”

Colorado Springs has several community gardens, but most of them are divided into small plots and rented to individuals.

The Dorchester Park Community Garden got its start when the Colorado Garden Show approved a grant request from Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado that included the new idea — $21,000 of the $100,000 grant went to Pikes Peak Urban Gardens, and roughly $7,000 of that was earmarked for Dorchester.

After that, several community agencies coalesced around the idea. Donations poured in from local nurseries and other businesses.

And clients at the three agencies getting the produce will help work the land. Leaders of the three agencies said the gardening experience and sense of accomplishment alone are a boon to their clients.

“Not one penny of city money was spent on this project, nor will it be,” Stebbins said. “But the city cooperated with us and made it easy.”

City staff identified underused park land in the city that would work for community gardens. Next up: A more traditional community garden is being established at Vermijo Park, 2601 W. Vermijo Ave., on the west side of Colorado Springs, with 18 families renting small plots.

Pikes Peak Urban Gardens, under the umbrella of the Pikes Peak Community Foundation, plans to help launch 20 to 30 community gardens during the next five years.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Stebbins said, “but it’s good work.”

Dorchester Park Community GardenPartner agencies: Pikes Peak Urban Gardens, Pikes Peak Community Foundation, Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department, Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado, Catholic Charities of Colorado Springs, Springs Rescue Mission, Urban PeakMajor donors: Colorado Garden Show, Phelan Gardens, Designer Columns & Piers, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Botanix, ForestEdge Gardens

The groundbreaking ceremony in Dorchester Park on Wednesday morning was not for a building, but for a garden. The Pikes Peak Urban Gardens have a new community garden in the park. There’s an entrance is on S. Nevada Ave. near I-25. Pikes Peak Urban Gardens has a variety of community gardens in Colorado Springs. Wednesday, April 7, 2010. (The Gazette/Jerilee Bennett) Photo by JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE

Jerilee Bennett