Kudos to the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati’s Community Gardens Program! They are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year boasting over 70 neighborhood gardens. I have been fortunate to be among the members of this year’s class of nearly fifty participants, which--- due to the Coronavirus-- is currently meeting online. This story begins when we were meeting in person at the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati on Wednesday evenings...
We are nearly a third through the 12 week program. During our two hour weekly meetings, we share a potluck and have opportunities to get to know one other.
I have been impressed with the great diversity of folks who want to initiate their own neighborhood gardens. A multitude of ages, cultures, work histories, backgrounds in terms of gardening know-how are represented here. They seem to have one thing in common: a desire to share their passion with others. One of our members added, We all see the garden as a vehicle to solve a problem.
Greg Potter, Community Gardens Coordinator, has a tall order to fill. How to take this inspiration and drive, and help others in just three months get a more realistic view of what their dream might mean for them and within the community they choose to serve is a gargantuan task. Greg’s gifts in this regard have truly impressed me.
From the start, we had to understand that a community garden---a place to grow vegetables and flowers--- can still mean many things. Perhaps an additional focus is to offer job training and skills, a place for horticulture therapy, a place to house the efforts of a horticulture society already in place, a place whose focus is providing food for the hungry, rather than the gardeners who work there. Greg tells us that each of the 70 gardens is like a spoke in a wheel, and each has its own unique function and personality.
The first thing Greg went about doing was helping class members learn to be community among themselves. What do we have in common? What makes us different from each other? How can we be good listeners and communicate effectively. How do we take the bones of our own vision, share it with others and inspire them to join us?
People will commit to what they co-create, Greg tells us. Change moves at the speed of trust. Trust drives people to do what we need to do together. Connection comes before content. Create a culture of collaboration. Enjoy the gift of wonder that comes with the garden. The importance of understanding and clarifying why we want to start a community garden and how to engage others effectively becomes a foundation for a good beginning.
So by week three, we were ready to hear from three successful community garden coordinators: Gerri Simmons, West End Garden- 941 Poplar Street; Merrie Stillpass, Amberley Community Garden – 7801 Ridge Road and Ann Ivancic, Carthage Community Garden, 124 W North Bend Road.
Gerri, a retired teacher, reminds us that her community gardeners are as young as six years old and as mature as 93! She tells us that her community members live in a food desert, that fresh produce is difficult to come by. Gerri encourages us to keep in touch with gardeners in the way they prefer: email, text, US post office or by word of mouth. She holds one meeting at the beginning of each gardening season, and one at the end, but is engaged with her gardening project year round. Each season there are new problems to solve, new ways to help one another. This past year, among her gardeners there were a handful of deaths, friends or family. Others stepped in to take care of gardening responsibilities, and not to forget the senior center home next door. Those folks look out for our garden, and know exactly what is going on, Gerry adds with a smile.
Merrie explains that her garden is located in what was once a golf course, Crest Hills, in Amberley Village. She describes her neighborhood as a food desert as well. In existence since 2012, this garden has benefited first from a deer fence and an 800 gallon cistern for water which were obtained from grants. Here there are 36 plots, 9 x 15 feet-- for individual gardeners that are directly in the ground. The old caddy shack serves as a tool shed. She has found that creating crews has been successful: one for compost, one for social events, one for ground crew, another for those who serve as row captains and another for maintenance of tools. The Boy Scouts have gotten involved, building a picnic table for the gardeners and community members. Merrie appreciates the support of a nutritionist that has been provided by the Civic Garden Center’s Community Gardening program. She brings a camp stove and provides cooking lessons!
Ann’s community garden is on land that belongs to the Cincinnati Public Schools. She discovered that her community preferred to create a gardening collective. Each member tends one plant family--- their favorite-- and the whole group benefits from the harvest. That makes it easier to rotate the beds so that the soil can be replenished and diseases managed. She wrote a grant for drip irrigation which is run by a solar panel, and advises, be ready for change. The public school owns the land, and the schools needs are often in flux. Therefore, garden boundaries must be modified. Someone drove a multi-terrain vehicle through the beds. The gardeners created a grapevine trellis around the garden to protect it. Ann has found help through collaborating with other like minded community groups.
I am recalling Greg Potter’s powerful words to all of us. Keep the sense of wonder to the forefront of our minds and hearts. What can a garden do for a community? So many things!
Victory Gardens via the Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati Still Thrive!