we are putting the
ART IN
EARTH
Lovers of the Land
Good Way Gardens is a sustainable arts organization that connects art and land by giving live music a garden venue. Good Way Gardens offers beneficial seedlings grown in a good way, and performing arts with a deep connection to land.
Founded by Potawatomi musician and agriculturalist Elexa Dawson, Good Way Gardens will make a place for presentation of sustainable live music events and plant education, drawing deeply from Indigenous practices of living life “in a good way.”
Good Way Gardens aims to cultivate community through revitalizing and repurposing under-utilized spaces by creating artistic interest where garden settings already exist, or assisting the community in cultivating new garden spaces. Building the culture from the land up, and providing quality cultural events within walking or biking distance for many, Good Way Gardens seeks to be a third place for community building.
Culture is what you Cultivate
Good Way Gardens’ mission is to cultivate a productive garden venue, with a greater goal of creating a culture of sustainability in Emporia. We increase access to art and sustainability through community programming, promoting good relationships between the land that Emporia sits on, and the people who inhabit it.
We believe truly sustainable economies include a wide view of art and plants as more than a product; acknowledging the value of origin, inspiration, and creation. Art thrives in reciprocal relationships with the natural world. Good Way believes it is the right and responsibility of all beings to return to the earth for our original instructions as people, to live in a way that respects all life. By combining plants and music, Good Way Gardens offers the community a venue for connection to land through arts.
Seedlings
Native vegetable varieties, prairie and pollinator plants, raised using all OMRI-approved soils and amendments
Events
Community-centered, all-ages entertainment, including live music, interactive education, and film.
Join us at the Howe House
Good Way has partnered with the Lyon County Historical Center to bring gardens and outdoor community arts activities to the Howe House at 315 E Logan Ave in Emporia, Kansas every first Sunday of the month this summer, starting May 7, 2023.
Good Way Gardens is a fund of Emporia Community Foundation
The Emporia Community Foundation (ECF) connects the diverse citizens and communities of Lyon and its six contiguous counties through the charitable actions of a variety of funds established for the purpose of bettering the lives of individuals within its communities. As a 501c3 Foundation, the ECF continues the traditional Kansas heritage of providing nonprofit service and supporting the charitable giving requests of donors who wish to enrich the quality of life of local citizens. ECF represents the Kansas counties of Lyon, Chase, Greenwood, Morris, Osage, Coffey and Wabaunsee.