[Community_garden] community gardens on public land - thank you

[Jack Hale]

 I was just thinking....
One of the rules for successful community organizing is "Incorporate the
opposition."
So, although you might prefer to blow up and give the grouch a piece of
your mind, you might tell him you are working on ways for the garden to
be the best neighbor anyone could have. You might consider asking him
some questions like "What is it about the garden that is particularly
distressing to you?" or "If we wanted the garden to present itself in
the best light to folks who currently consider it unsightly, what would
be the best things to do right away?"  Of course, this guy just may eat
nasty flakes for breakfast, and there may be no way to move him, but as
long as you are able to converse there is always the possibility of him
turning away from the dark side.  Never ask questions that suggest a yes
or no answer.  Once you get a "no," it's a lot harder to turn things
around.
Good luck.
JH


Jack N. Hale
Executive Director
Knox Parks Foundation
75 Laurel Street
Hartford, CT 06106
860/951-7694

-----Original Message-----
From: community_garden-bounces at list.communitygarden.org
[mailto:community_garden-bounces at list.communitygarden.org] On Behalf Of
Rory Cohen
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2008 3:48 PM
To: community_garden at list.communitygarden.org
Subject: Re: [Community_garden] community gardens on public land - thank
you

Your response as a community to us has been so wonderful, thanks to all
who've chimed in to help us make the case for our community garden.

Yes, our neighbor is a bit grouchy, and the fresh tomatoes didn't work.
The sad part is that this person and his wife are the pastor of the
church at the other end of the park.  We have some great ideas for
getting the church youth group involved with supplying the surplus
veggies to the nursing home up the street, but because the pastor
doesn't like the look of the garden, it's not a subject we can broach.

We've worked out our own relationship with the nursing home, though, and
they'll try to move the church forward without the pastor.

Warmly,

 Rory


Mobile:1 215 287 6458
Toll Free: 1 877 669 9746
www.take10now.com
www.thesecretin10minutes.com


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