[Community_garden] need to prove that many community gardens are onpublic land

[Alliums]

Hi, Rory!

I would challenge this person to find out where they are getting their
research from.  How do they know so much about community gardens?  What do
they have in writing and how do they document what they "know"?

You probably need to talk to Philadelphia Green at the PA Horticultural
Society for a list of what is going on in PA.  I think you can also dice the
ACGA community garden database to get stats on "type of land."

I'm in Phoenixville and our community garden is on land owned by the Housing
Authority of Chester County.  What has resonated most in this area is that
our community garden should be preserved because it has become a de facto
public park in an area of rapid development -- considering I just came from
our volunteer night with 12 people and 4 dogs and spent last Saturday
working in the garden while around me one man was playing Frisbee with his
dog, another was practicing his putt shot and a third was checking out the
gutter/rain barrel set-up on our shed so that he can duplicate it at his own
shed at home, I think we've become that public park.

Get your elected folks to visit the garden, have your gardeners talk up the
benefits to the community and take the lead on framing what your community
garden and what its benefit is to the community -- don't let this neighbor
frame the discussion for you.

Dorene

Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator
St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden and Labyrinth

A mission of 
St. John's United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, PA  19460