Cultivating care by improving the well-being of
those living, working, and visiting the
Delaware Correctional Facilities through gardening.

For over a decade a group of dedicated volunteers from the Garden Club of Wilmington partnered with Delaware Center of Horticulture to help the Baylor Culinary Arts program teach residents about the principles of gardening. This program was not only a source of food for the Culinary Arts program, it was a source of hope to dozens of women who participated in the program. In 2015 the Baylor Garden benefited from the ‘Breaking Bread Behind Bars’ fundraising event through which they were able to add at greenhouse to allow their club to run year round.

In 2020, the Covid 19 Pandemic took a toll on the Baylor Garden. Volunteers were no longer able to enter the prison, and the necessary measures to keep residents and staff healthy made it incredibly challenging to care for the garden. But Garden Club members did not give up hope. For over two years, a small, dedicated group of inmates harvested seeds and replanted vegetables, but without support from “the outside” they couldn’t replace soil, straw, and tools.

Baylor’s Gardening History

New Leaf’s Beginning

In 2020 the Covid 19 Pandemic made life inside prisons especially isolating as visitations and programs had to be stopped. To provide hope to the residents of Baylor, True Life Church formed a letter writing group. As the church became more aware of the needs at Baylor, they saw the opportunity to plant a garden in the open circle at the entrance of Baylor Women’s Correctional Institute (BWCI). To maintain these plantings, Kristin Brownlee organized the “True Life Gardening at Baylor” group, where those of us living “outside the fence” learned the healing power of caring for a garden together.

In 2023 the direct association with True Life Church had ended, but the “Gardening at Baylor” group continued. Volunteers began to dream about how they could provide even more support those living, visiting, and working at Baylor. It was at the moment that BWCI staff reached out to Kristin about rebuilding the Garden Club inside Baylor. And with the coming together of garden clubs on “both sides of the fence”, New Leaf Garden Club was born.

Our Organization

We are a registered 501c(3) Delaware Nonprofit Corporation. While we do not have formal members, we do have supporters and volunteers on “both sides of the fence”.

Our directors and “outside” volunteers participate in a number of ways:

  • Executive Committee: oversees the operation and finances of the organization

  • Advisory Committee: provides input of mission and vision of the organization

  • Communication & Creative: maintains website

  • Fundraising & Events: coordinate plant sales & other events