Community Garden in Affluent Suburb

You might want to check out City Farmer at http://www.cityfarmer.org/. I'm sure they have some experiences to share.

Graham Currie
Greater Vancouver Regional District
Canada

Hi Virginia,
I was really excited to read your post as I am in a somewhat similar situation. I am the Community Liaison Manager for a new masterplanned community in Canberra, Australia. At the moment we have 290 households but on completion will be home to approximately 2,600 people. One of our bid commitments was the delivery of a community garden and I am currently writing a business plan for submission to local government. I would be happy to share some ideas for a community engagement strategy with you. Like you, I have approached the on site school and childcare centre about using the garden as an outdoor education space and they are really excited about the project.There are several residents who have already expressed an interest in being on a gardening committee, all of whose focus is on showing their children where food comes from and living sustainably. Delfin Lend Lease have a strong commitment to providing life long learning opportunities in their communities. As part of this commitment we have been providing free workshops for the residents and local community on composting, worm farms, drought tolerant planting (very necessary here!) and have most recently had an community art workshop to produce a bird bath and some tiles that will be incorporated into the garden. I think the road forward offers a few challenges, not the least being the submission to government, but also provides so many opportunities for community capacity building and education.
Good luck and stay in touch!

Christie Wallis
Ms
Delfin Lend Lease
Australia

You say you will bring in school groups. That is one good step. I think you need to try to harness the energy of children. Younger kids could have their own little group plot to grow easy to grow items. Teens could be convinced it is "cool" to grow difficult to grow or exotic crops (exotic for your area). WIth a strong enough youth participation, you don't need many adults. Overtime parents may follow. Boy/Girl Scout troops might be another source of energy. Finally, don't overlook your county extension office. They have lots of info on both the technology of agriculture, and tools for community organizing and youth enagement.

Mel Tremper
United States

Christie, Thanks for the information. I work on numerous projects with Virginia, including the community garden. I am very interested in reading the business plan you mentioned so please keep this request in mind as you complete it, plus your ideas for community engagement.
Many Thanks.

 Bruce Bartlett
Actis Design, Inc.
United States
www.cpo1friends.org

Have a look at http://busseltoncommunitygarden.org.au/ for a very successful community garden in a rural town of some 25,000 people.

Bernie Masters
environmental consultant

This is a challenge. Here's how I'm planning on approaching this issue.
I plan to involve my neighbors in my project by gradually drawing them in. First, a kitchen and yard waste collection scheme along with a neighborhood workshop on composting. I also plan to sell excess produce in the neighborhood, maybe a box scheme. Hopefully, this will tend to demystify the process/benefits of neighborhood food production. As they get comfortable with my project I'll roll out more ideas, eventually leading to a community garden.

A group here in Sheffield, The abundance project, harvests fruit from neglected trees all over the city, even offering free pruning to insure future harvests. They've gotten national TV coverage and it's a win win, for both parties. It's opened doors in neighborhoods of all socio economic levels. I believe this has been a boon to the burgeoning urban agriculture movement here.

C Robb Worthington
United Kingdom
http://sustliving.blogspot.com/

You may be surprised at the level of latent interest in your community. Awareness is building in many communities around the Western world, in issues of food security, health, food safety etc etc. If you promote the garden using posters, word of mouth, viral email marketing within the community, it may bring out the most interested people, who will then start to spread the word with their local neighbours and friends.
I live in a time poor, financially wealthy suburb in Sydney, Australia, and there is a great deal of interest growing in food issues. People love seeing my chicken run which is near the footpath, and are delighted when they see corn and eggplants growing in our garden beds instead of landscaped ornamentals!
Our recently formed local community garden holds an open day on the last Sunday of each month. There is now a lovely email discussion going on amongst members, as we tackle local growing issues, weather, pests etc.
Why don't you grow some lettuce, bok choy, spinach etc in recycled containers, and have a day when you give plants to passers by with an invitation to come to an open day?
If you build it, they will come. If you show them how easy it is to get started with growing food, they will take an interest.
Good luck!

Andrea Koch
Sustainable Food Advisor
Australia

Our community has been making noteworthy progress in linking people with access to healthy food, through increasingly vibrant Farmers Markets, proliferation of neighborhood based community gardens (from 3 to 25+ in 3 years), a dynamic volunteer gleaning effort that moved 11,000 pounds of unharvested fruit to organizations in its first year, forming an active Farm to Cafeteria committee looking at bringing fresh local food into our schools, and initiating, over 4 months, 15-20 Menu for the Future courses (see www.nwei.org) 6 week discussion courses, each with its own farmer-participant, bringing the realities of local agriculture to the conversation.

The real challenge in changing food habits, (growing, procurement, preservation, cooking, and sharing), is first and foremost one of education. We have been taught to believe food should be cheap and instantly available so we can eat on the run. To reeducate ourselves to value healthful food, local food, and to develop the skills necessary to provide for ourselves well in that regard, is an involved process. The educational opportunity provided through the Northwest Earth Institute course, Menu for the Future, is easily accessible, and invaluable in drawing people into the conversation, in engaging their willingness to take action, as the groups provide a natural sense of community, much as do our community gardens, our gleaning groups, etc. The biggest challenge, in my estimation, in fostering sustainable behavior is the offering of the needed support for change. Groups help. Changing the collective norms of behavior helps. Bringing people together, whether into discussion forums, or action projects like community gardens, is an essential component of the cultural changes that lie ahead for us all. Building strong community as the platform for behavior change makes the challenge of change a fun and receptive process.

Judith Alexander
Local 20/20 Jefferson County WA relocalization effort (Transition Town)
United States

Hi Christie,
Would it be possible to get a copy of the Business Plan you developed? A group in the Moreton Bay Regional Council area in Qld, including myself, is working on ways of setting up Community Gardens across the entire region. It would be fantastic to not have to re-invent the wheel is basic strategies and naturally your work will be acknowledged. much appreciated,
Joline Lalime

Volunteer

Joline Lalime
Ms
Australia

I assisted with developing a community garden in a middle class neighborhood in El Monte, CA. We leased private land from a landowner that had an unusually shaped parcel. The lease was for $1 a year. He never had to maintain the property because the gardeners took care of it for him.

We placed a sign in front of the property that said "Future Home of La Madera Community Garden". We had a cleanup day and invited local residents to help out cleaning up the unsightly lot. We had our plots full within 1 year. We found that recent immigrants (including Asian communities) were very eager to participate in the garden. Most grew up tending small gardens back home but were living in dense housing that made it impossible here.

http://www.diynetwork.com/grounds-for-improvement/a-community-garden-makeover/index.html


Cathie Chavez
City of Los Angeles
United States

I am not sure if you are aware of Surfrider's Ocean Friendly Gardens Program. I am not sure if it would be appropriate for you region or not...but we've found that connecting folks to the idea that everything we do in our yards, businesses, schools, etc...has an impact on our oceans to be quite successful. The program is well developed with a regional coordinator and has a workbook for residents to make improvements to their own gardens. We have work days at someone's home and everyone pitches in to build it. The model could work well for a community garden.
Here is the link...http://www.surfrider.org/ofg.asp

Jill Sarick Santos
ES Coordinator
City of Ventura - Environmental Services Division
United States
www.venturasenvironment.com