Assignment 3: Get to Know Your Cohort Forum

Community Garden

Community Garden

por Isaac Spaeth -
Número de respuestas: 3

Hello Everyone,

My name is Isaac Spaeth. I am from a small town called Olean, way in the lower west side of NY. The community garden that I am overseeing is part of a not for profit farm called Canticle. It has been a part of this community for 25 years, but the community garden has only been in existence for a year. Currently, we have a mix of garden renters and beds planted to provide food and beauty, flowers, for people in our community. The garden is expanding to accommodate people with disabilities (since it is currently not very accessible) due to a grant that is allowing us to pave some parts and add wheelchair accessible beds. We are also hoping to add a sensory garden for kids and adolescents, as well as we have started putting in a 17 acre community food forest.

Since I am new at the whole community garden thing I am really just looking for insights, see what other people are doing, and gaining skills towards managing this farms community spaces better. 

I look forward to learning and growing with all of you!

Isaac

En respuesta a Isaac Spaeth

Re: Community Garden

por Gregory Rosen -
Hello Isaac in Olean! It's so encouraging to hear about the garden and food forest you're involved with. Are you aiming to fulfill ADA compliance? If yes, what will the pathway material be? I've been interested in getting closer to ADA and this year widened garden paths to 3ft, and 4ft at corners, as well as installing two extra tall raised beds (32" high). But our pathways are still dirt. I'm also taking a class on ASL to be more inclusive of the Deaf community. We planted native edible plants in the yard outside our garden, which is sort of like a food forest, including pawpaw, highbush blueberry, American plum, hazelnut, dwarf chestnut, beach plum, groundnuts, native strawberry, and evening primrose. Are you also including native plants? -Greg
En respuesta a Gregory Rosen

Re: Community Garden

por Cynthia Knight -
Isaac and Gregory:

I am very interested in hearing more about what each of you are doing in your respective locations. I manage two raised bed community gardens and this year began organizing a Food Forest project on a small parcel of FEMA land in my community.

Gregory: I am especially excited to gain insight and further knowledge on the large variety of fruit and nut trees that you currently have planted in the yard outside the garden. Concerning ADA compliance and accessibility, we recently installed pathways at the Food Forest site, and desiring to use organic materials rather than man-made products that may be petroleum based, chose CRUSHER RUN and CRUSHER DUST which when compacted is suitable for wheelchairs and walkers.
En respuesta a Isaac Spaeth

Re: Community Garden

por Abby Schroering -

Hi Isaac,

So cool! At the Westchester/NYC meet-up earlier this week, we toured a food forest in the Bronx. They have some videos on , in case it's helpful!

-Abby