[Community_garden] need to prove that many community gardensare on public land

[Abby Cocke]

Baltimore City runs a robust and successful community gardening program in
its larger city parks.  I actually have a 10'x10' plot in one of them.  Each
one has a large chain link fence, multiple watering sources and free mulch
and compost.  Here's a blurb from the Department of Recreation & Parks's
2008 program guide (can be found here:
http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/recnparks/index.php).  They're
adding one in the Hampden neighborhood, so it'll be 8 soon, instead of 7.

What better place for a shared, communal space than on shared, communal
land???

***

City Farms
Coleen McCarthy, Program Coordinator
(410) 396-7839
Baltimore City Department of Recreation and
Parks' Horticulture Division operates seven large
community gardens located in Carroll, Clifton,
DeWees/Woodbourne, Druid Hill, Fort Holabird,
Leakin and Patterson parks. They provide clean
and safe gardens complete with protective fencing
and a water source where inner-city residents can
grow their own food. Membership is open to all
Baltimore City residents. The yearly plot rental fee
is $20.

***

Abby Cocke
Community Organizer
Partnerships for Parks
Parks & People Foundation
800 Wyman Park Drive, Ste 010
Baltimore, MD 21211
410-448-5663 x122
443-448-5895 (fax)
abby.cocke at parksandpeople.org
 
"A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the
helm."
-- Henrik Ibsen

-----Original Message-----
From: Don Boekelheide [mailto:dboekelheide at yahoo.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 11:27 PM
To: community_garden at list.communitygarden.org
Subject: Re: [Community_garden] need to prove that many community gardensare
on public land

Hi, Rory,

In Charlotte, North Carolina, the Park and Recreation Department sponsors
community gardens on public parkland, including the one where I garden (54
plots, average 20x20). There is a non-profit, church-based group that also
sponsors gardens here, but some of these are also on public land, and run
with public agency assistance.

You might also want to look at Portland, Oregon's Park and Recreation
community gardening program.

Your critic sounds like Oscar the Grouch. Can't you 'buy them off' with some
fresh tomatoes?

Don
http://urbanministrygarden.wordpress.com


Message: 1
Date: Tue, 01 Apr 2008 19:19:03 -0400
From: "Rory Cohen" <rorycohen at verizon.net>
Subject: [Community_garden] need to prove that many community gardens
    are on    public land
To: <community_garden at list.communitygarden.org>
Message-ID: <005001c8944e$c6b06cb0$6501a8c0 at computer1>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Friends:
 
We have a small (10-12 family) organic community garden, the first in a
park in cheltenham township, PA.  We've been operating for 5 seasons
now.
 
One of the neighbors thinks the garden is 'messy' and 'unsightly' and is
trying to get it shut down.
 
One of the arguments they are using is that the garden is in a public
park, and they say that most community gardens are on private or
institutional land.
 
this isn't true according to my research, but I need to gather more
examples of community gardens that are on park land.  Can you help?
 
Warmly,