When a historic Lutheran church 30 miles northwest of downtown Houston announced plans for a community garden to benefit local food pantries and other outreach ministries, Triple-S Compost was eager to help the effort, committing to donate the necessary soil blends, garden mix, composts and mulch to start the project off right.

St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, which dates back to 1853 when German farmers first settled the area, sits on a large campus at the intersection of Spring Cypress, Telge and Huffmeister in northwest Harris County. Church organizers designated 3 acres of the 18.4-acre campus for the garden and organized a July speaker series to raise awareness and interest among church members, nearby neighbors and the community. 

Mark Froehlich, a long-time member of the church leading the planning effort, said he is thrilled at the initial interest and level of support the community garden is receiving, not only among the church membership but throughout the community. “Our community garden sprouted out of a desire to share our land, our talents and our faith with our neighbors, each other and the community,” he said. “I’m overwhelmed by how well the plans are coming together and grateful to everyone stepping up — from our Saturday speakers to our members and neighbors coming to learn more, to our generous corporate sponsors and volunteers who have committed resources and time to help our garden grow.”

Jonathan Hill, vice president at Triple-S Compost’s parent company Sprint Waste, will conclude the speaker series this Saturday at 10 a.m. in the church’s Chapel, with a talk about how green-waste recycling benefits the garden, the community and the environment. Previous speakers in the series included Chris Juergen, owner of Paradigm Brewing, an exciting new brewery/restaurant startup coming soon to Tomball; Harris County Flood Control Meteorologist and extreme weather and climate expert Jeff Lindner; and GardenLine radio host and garden expert Randy Lemmon. 

“At Sprint Waste and the Sprint companies, we believe sustainability is a shared responsibility and journey for everyone, from businesses to neighborhoods to every last gardener or partaker of the garden,” Hill said. “We all have a role to play and a way to give back. We’re happy to be in a position to give back to this garden and support this outstanding example of sustainability and stewardship in action.”

Hill pointed out how critical safe and sustainable waste services are to our everyday life, especially as the greater Houston-Galveston area continues to experience explosive growth. “Managing waste and essential resources is more important than ever,” Hill said. “From managing ever-increasing organic and water-waste streams to land conservation for flood control to promoting sustainable landscaping practices in subdivisions, schools, businesses and individual gardens, we can all do our part.”

Triple-S Compost’s Grant Hileman agreed, citing the company’s goal to create sustainability partnerships. “One of our missions here at Triple-S is to partner with businesses, local governments and civic groups to divert green waste of all types away from the landfill, use it in our green-waste recycling and manufacturing processes, and then use the resulting products to promote healthier and more sustainable projects just like this one. We appreciate the opportunity to be involved and hope the St. John community garden becomes a shining example of what can happen when churches, businesses and neighbors work together.”

St. John Lutheran Church is located at 15235 Spring Cypress, Cypress, TX 77429. Click here for more information and for a map of the St. John campus.