Preston ― A new summer learning program will spring up outside the Preston Public Library later this month, with the recent Board of Selectmen approval for a community garden on the grounds near the Veterans’ Memorial garden.

The Preston community garden is a partnership between the library and Preston Youth Services, which will provide the $2,500 start-up funding. The project aims to create two cedar-framed raised beds, growing mainly vegetables.

“We thought it would be a great community effort for the town,” Library Director Diane Deedy said. “Teach the youth how plants grow, about soil science, where food comes from, and the kids can donate their vegetables.”

The project will use the Square Foot Gardening method of planting gardens in small spaces, with help from Dan Williams, a certified instructor who works with the Hope Garden in Ledyard.

“Maximum produce for a minimum amount of space,” Deedy said of the method.

The library will add a youth gardening class to its summer program to teach participants about planting and caring for a garden and let them work on the community garden. The youth program will be open to children from lower elementary school to high school levels.

To launch the effort, Williams will give a talk at 11 a.m. April 15 at the library, 389 Route 2. The talk is free and open to the public.

“I think it’s really a positive thing for youths, a fun activity to know where food comes from,” First Selectwoman Sandra Allyn-Gauthier said. “It’s a good way to start a program like this.”

Preston Youth Services Director Amy Brosnan said her agency has been talking about starting a community garden for the past two years, and it made sense to partner with the library, as they do for other programs.

With the town funding, Deedy plans to buy low-cost seedlings at Riverview Farm greenhouse in Uncasville. The Preston garden will focus on vegetables participants can donate to various food programs, including tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and maybe potatoes, Deedy said.

The library is seeking donations of cedar frame boards, seeds and vegetable plants, “and we’re always looking for volunteers,” Deedy added.

For information and to offer donations, contact Deedy at Preston Public Library at (860) 886-1010.

c.bessette@theday.com