Village Institute for Sustainable Technologies & Agriculture

A community garden in northern Tampa is using sustainability to produce vegetables and local plant life on their roughly three-acre plot of land. It’s called VISTA Gardens, which stands for the Village Institute for Sustainable Technologies and Agriculture. It was started by few people in Carrollwood Village about 11 years ago with very little gardening experience.

The Florida Wildflower Foundation recently announced that our proposal for the 2025 Viva Florida Landscape Demonstration Garden Grant has been awarded in the amount of $3000 for additional wildflower plantings at Carrollwood Village Park, VISTA Gardens Park and Carrollwood Cultural Center. This collaborative project spearheaded by Tia Silvasy, Residential Horticulture Extension Agent, UF/IFAS Hillsborough County, will continue to develop a Carrollwood Pollinator Corridor and

Recipients of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s  (TBEP) Golden Mangrove Award on May 16, congratulations go to  Elizabeth Warner, Chair, Woodland Committee, along with Vicki Kuse, Gail Myers, Ann Wallace and Liz Vicario.  Joining in the recognition ceremony were representatives of the USF Rotaract Club, Angela Atta-Armah, Co-President, and Trong Vo, past Projects Chair. USF Rotaract members and members of Sickles High School National Honor Society worked tirelessly over the pas

Two Sickles High School National Honor Society students celebrate VISTA's Spring Festival with some face paint. Celebrating Community and...

On Sunday, February 16, VISTA Gardens hosted a transformative volunteer event in our woodland area, where we teamed up with Damon and...

OH MY GOSH—that perfectly sums up the energy at VISTA Gardens on February 8, 2025! In the photos above, you can see our dedicated team of...

On January 18, 2025, under the dedicated guidance of VISTA members Angela, Marty, Marcy, Rolfe, and Jennifer, a remarkable day of...

VISTA Gardens has long been fortunate to benefit from the volunteer efforts of students from Sickles High School’s National Honor...

🎥 Watch the Video: Intro to VISTA Gardens Before diving into this post, check out our Intro to VISTA Gardens  YouTube video, created by...

On a crisp December morning, an enthusiastic group gathered at VISTA Gardens to celebrate their shared commitment to environmental...

We’re thrilled to share a special milestone—this is the 100th blog post from VISTA Gardens! Over the years, we’ve shared tips, stories,...

Gardening is a rewarding and therapeutic activity, but it’s not without challenges—plant diseases being one of the most common. A...

This month, we proudly completed our extensive work for the Tampa Bay Estuary Program mini grant, a project that has been both rewarding...

VISTA Gardens is thrilled to unveil a beautiful and informative new sign in our Butterfly Garden! This vibrant addition not only enhances...

In the aftermath of recent hurricanes, our friends at the Apollo Beach Community Forest Garden  faced devastating losses. Their entire...

On Saturday, December 7, members of the Sickles High School National Honor Society joined us for a day of service in VISTA’s Woodland and...

A couple months ago, Hurricane Milton passed through, leaving only mild effects on the VISTA woodland trail. Despite the disruption, the...

Today marks a significant milestone in our 2024 woodland restoration project, a commendable initiative generously funded by the Tampa Bay...

VISTA Gardens recently hosted a significant and collaborative volunteer event that brought together members of the USF Rotaract and...