(WBIR) It's a roof with a view and more.
"Before, this roof was just a rooftop, and now it's a great place to grow food," Leah Wolff with the YMCA said.
The Community Giving Garden is on the roof of the Downtown YMCA with a perfect view of the Sunsphere.
Ron McDowell is a volunteer who drives to the Y from his home in Anderson County.
"I like to garden at home so I decided to volunteer," he said.
With the garden, the YMCA promotes volunteerism. Leah Wolff says it also sets an example for growing healthy food in a small space, and it offers teaching opportunities.
"We're going to have 250 kids coming through, and we're going to do farm-to-table education," she said.
It's an education in a different way to garden. You'll see a lot of plants, but no dirt.
This garden uses hydroponics, a method of growing plants with nutrients in water, without soil.
"Hydroponics is really more compact. You have a lot more control over the temperature and what nutrients the plants are getting," she said.
Ron noted, "It is a lot cleaner than gardening in the soil."
It means no dirty fingernails for volunteers and staff members harvesting the latest crop of lettuce, kale, and cucumbers.
"I'm amazed at how fast the vegetables grow. It seems like in just a matter of a few days you have tremendous growth," Ron said.
Leah explained, "We have three gardens. This one on the rooftop and then one at the Cansler Y that a soil garden and then over at the Davis YMCA. 100% of the produce there is going to food pantries, feeding people who need food right now."
Volunteers harvest the produce and place it in boxes with an important destination. Ron takes it over to the FISH food pantry.
"It gives you a good feeling to know you're helping someone else who needs it," he said.
Volunteering is a good fit for the retiree with a green thumb.
"I hope to continue doing it for a long time," he said.
As for Leah, she hopes to see more gardens on Knoxville roofs though they may not have quite the view.
The YMCA plans to rent the rooftop for small events.
