Trinity Gardens Tour

Three Acres Nestled in the
Santa Barbara Foothills

By George Yatchisin | May 16, 2024

The Santa Barbara Culinary Experience (SBCE) doesn’t just feature the region’s stars — it also hopes to shine a light on lesser-known people and projects. Take Trinity Gardens, three acres nestled in the Santa Barbara Foothills near the intersection of La Cumbre and Foothill roads. The land — provided by Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church — allows not only for gardens that grow produce for local food banks, nonprofits, and the Organic Soup Kitchen, but also 23 individual plots rented independently. In addition, Dewayne Nash, chair and garden manager, says, “We also provide gardening and food education for all ages to raise awareness about sustainable and healthy growing and eating practices.”

The SBCE tour of Trinity, capped at an intimate 15 people, will roam the property, learning about its 12-year history while perusing plantings from pumpkin patches to a banana grove. Other stops on the tour will visit the six hens in their chicken coop, explain the processes behind the compost area and large vermicompost box, and check out the greenhouse where each vegetable grown in the garden gets started from seed.

Lunch, made from the bounty of the Gardens and served with locally baked bread, will be prepared by the Organic Soup Kitchen. “We usually serve one of their delicious and nutritious soups at our events,” Nash said. “All their soups are flavorful and are stocked with nutrition.” The soup of the day will be so fresh they can’t even announce what it will be yet.

Given much of Trinity Gardens’ education focus is on children’s programs, they hope tour-takers bring the whole family. After all, it’s never too early to learn the ways of the land and how growing your own produce is both fun and healthy.

Even better, each participant in the tour will be able to harvest some produce from the communal garden area themselves to take home.

See trinitygardenssb.org.