Community Garden Leadership

Contrary to the idea that community gardens should serve everybody, it is almost impossible to create a space where all people can get their needs met. Often in community gardens, members have competing priorities and ideas about how the space should be managed and which activities should or should not be allowed which leads to conflict and decreased participation in the garden over time. By understanding and communicating your garden's capacity and goals proactively through a thoughtful declaration of mission, vision, purpose and values, garden leaders can help reduce the amount and impact of conflict in the garden. For garden leaders, this can be determining what services or activities can you offer broadly, like food donations and large-scale, full day events and communicating the rationale for these activities. This can also be determining which services or activities you may not want to offer, like even paved pathways, routine open forum garden meetings, or allotment garden beds that meet the American Disability Act (ADA) standards and communicating the capacity or limitations (i.e. space, funding, labor) that inform garden offerings.

Short Answer Question: Think back to the Harlem Grown case study and reflect on your garden leadership thus far -- what have you done to make community members feel welcomed and a sense of belonging at your garden? Write 1-2 paragraphs describing how your organization makes the community garden a welcoming space and for whom. Consider who may not feel welcomed in your garden and reflect on whether or not that is intentional. Also consider your garden's capacity, what services or events can you provide to impact more people in your local community?

Next, submit a private Journal Entry.