Comments on: Are Community Gardens Obsolete? Part II

By: grace

grace — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:10:00 +0000

Tiffany (et al) – DC Schoolyard Greening (I’m guessing incorrectly referred to as DC Schoolyard Gardens elsewhere in these comments) was started in 2003 as a response to the needs of teachers who wanted to start school gardens but didn’t know how… we are an all-volunteer endeavor, but manage to put together a spring workshop every year for teachers (this year toward the end of March) as well as an informational website at http://www.dcschoolyardgreening.org. Just as teachers struggle to fit gardening into their schedules, I know many people who want to help also struggle with finding the time to do so who have their own job workload and concerns/pressures. I truly admire the community members and teachers at schools such as Watkins ES, Bancroft ES, Cardozo SHS, Horace Mann ES, Brent ES (to name a few – there are more than many people realize!) who have started gardening projects and kept them going.

By: Tiffany @ the garden apartment

Tiffany @ the garden apartment — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:56:00 +0000

I’ve enjoyed reading this series. Thank you for posting so thoughtfully on this topic.
I am actually a former DCPS teacher, and I personally witnessed many of the statistics you refer to. In particular, I was alarmed that many of my students would bring family sized bags of potato chips to school as their lunch. At one point, I was given permission to work with my students on a garden program, but beyond money for the supplies, I was given very little outside assistance . As a teacher this made it very difficult to create the garden successfully– especially with all the other demands on inner-city teachers (ie. testing, which happens in the spring at the same time gardens need to be planted). I think it’s a great idea to get students and the community more involved in projects like this, but there has to be major support from people in the community who can assist with the education, the workload, and understand other concerns/ pressures that affect the communities they are working with.

By: Ecolocity

Ecolocity — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:09:00 +0000

Ed, thank you for setting out the issues so clearly. I’m glad to know these issues have been the focus of attention. We at Ecolocity are not intent on reinventing the wheel, but prefer to build on what has been done. I’d be happy to meet with you, Liz Falk and anyone else interested in sustainability to pick up back where you left off. Our next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, Feb 3, 7 pm at ECAC, 733 Euclid St NW and will be devoted to these ideas. If you are unable to attend on this occasion, i can meet at some other time.
http://ecolocity.ning.com

By: Ed Bruske

Ed Bruske — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:22:00 +0000

Liz, my response to the previous comment touched on this. We never got any traction trying to move the DCUG vision. As a result, the organization has basically collapsed. But perhaps if we just used that 20-year-old Urban Gardens legislation as a focus and hammered away at it with a united front, we might at least be able to hold something together. I’m coming to think that it’s all about sustainability. It’s shocking that the District of Columbia does not have a sustainability czar. So many other jurisdictions are moving in that direction.

By: Ed Bruske

Ed Bruske — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:15:00 +0000

anon, virtually all of the groups you mentioned were represented on the DCUG board of directors. Unfortunately, they had a hard time identifying a unifying mission and found it equally difficult identifying a time when they could all meet. In other words, we had a vision, but no execution.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:29:00 +0000

I think what could work is a group of people meeting monthly to organize movements in DC. The movements I see (though I’m sure I am missing some): 1. fresh food access for all 1a. gardens. 1b.markets 1c.grocery store 1d.other 2. increase urban agriculture production (actually getting people to grow) 2a.education/resources 2b. school gardens 2c. community gardens 3. policy/legislation. This would be an ACTIVE group of people with the time, knowledge, and energy to really make things happen. Of course, this isn’t a new idea, and actually, already there exists a Healthy Corner Initiative, a Farmers Market Collaborative, a Healthy Affordable Food for All committee, DC Schoolyard Gardens, all the DCUG folk, and that’s just to name a few. But I don’t think all these committees and collaborative talk much- in an organized and productive way I mean. So, we have the people, we have the interest, how do we get all these movements working together?

By: E

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:11:00 +0000

Great conversation. As Ed said, he and I have been throwing around this legislation and talk about ‘now what’ for over a year now. I would love to see something come of it and see if we can get some city backing. After our painfully long and difficult process of getting the new site for 7th Street Garden I literally just asked this week about working with those city officials we just worked with on that process to work with us to come up with a way that it will be easier for future organizations trying to get land for gardens. Of those I heard responses from, which is 2 of 5, there wasn’t much support to make this any sort of priority or even get it on the to do list. One very informed person insisted we would need somebody in the mayors office to really REALLY want to see this happen and to held push it through. We don’t know who that would be… I would love take this conversation further with interested parties, but I do fear sitting on another committee of people working for a good cause who are all so busy to actually do anything. I would like to see a solid focus among the foodie/garden/food security groups in DC. There have been some momentum on this and I think we need to all keep pushing to make it continue. I wonder if the problem is really have a large NGO here leading the way, like a Just Food or something. I don’t know. (and now I’m just bantering…)

By: eatclosetohome

eatclosetohome — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:56:00 +0000

I think instead of redefining “community garden plots,” you might find a smoother path by simply advocating for creating urban farms, either cooperative or for-profit.

By: Ed Bruske

Ed Bruske — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:24:00 +0000

pp, before we can move forward, there needs to be more people behind this issue. Perhaps we can find out who in the mayor’s office this falls under and start a conversation. Liz Falk with the 7th Street garden is aware and interested. But up to now, no one seems to have the time or the resources to persue it.

Anon, I normally don’t publish anonymous comments, but you raise good points. Local gardens should be controlled by the local community, not ruled over from the outside. What I’m suggesting is that community gardens reconsider how they go about their business in order to be more productive and more inclusive. But perhaps government agencies that are in charge of making land available for community gardens, such as the parks and recreation department here in the District of Columbia, should consider new rules that would favor collective farming over individual plots. I’m all in favor of turning gold courses and other land parcels into farms, as well as the space around public and private buildings. I think that’s something that may very well come to pass if energy supplies continue to decline. If some of the proposed scenarios come to pass, then we will certainly be forced to make collective accomodations or a lot of people are going to go hungry.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:11:00 +0000

There should be space for both. Many people who use community gardens are already disenfranchised. We’re poor, we’re landless, we’re students, we’re immigrants, we’re apartment dwellers. Perhaps this is not true in DC. It is true at my garden. There is value in letting us have our own space. Better organization and techniques are fantastic, but I am wary of the idea of taking land out of the hands of those who have the least. I’m sure you mean well, and I’m sure you mean to “help” us. Traditionally, though, such moves have only worked if the community does it themselves, and we have good reason to be wary of outside “improvements.”
But will you also champion the conversion of the golf courses (averaging 150 acres) into small farms? Will you set up programs to encourage landlords and landowners to give their land over to food crops?
Or will you stop at advocating taking what we have now, and telling us nothing is lost by removing our control?
I honestly think you believe you’re being helpful, and you’re probably right – if we planted corn in rows altogether, pollination would increase, and yields would be higher. But I’d like you to reconsider why people might be resistant. How is being allowed to volunteer for someone else’s plan in exchange for food different than working and harvesting your own plan? Why might the former strike the wrong chord for some of us? If you can address some of these class/power issues, you might be more successful.