ย “Look, these are done,” cries fifth grader
Lekisha Mitchell as she tests the weight of a ripening sunflower head. Behind
her and friend Terri Burnett, also a fifth grader, the row of flowers stretches
almost to a vanishing point beside School 9 on North Clinton Avenue.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The sunflowers, though, are only a
garnish. The most significant feature of this piece of urban land is a
community garden — and it looks ready for picking. There are tomatoes,
cabbages, broccoli, collards, carrots, even a second harvest of late strawberries.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The garden makes the corner of North
Clinton and Upper Falls Boulevard, one of northeast Rochester’s busiest
intersections, look almost rural. The street noise disturbs the illusion,
especially when school’s letting out. But look to either side of the small plot
and you see reality. On one side you see an eight-foot fence topped with barbed
wire; to the other side, much farther away, you see a low-profile plant and
parking lots. This is the property of Coca-Cola Bottling Company, which for the
past four years has loaned the space to a not-for-profit group.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย But pretty soon the garden will turn
fallow, and not just because of winter. Coke has told the gardeners they’ll
need pull up stakes and find new land.
What are a
garden and a bunch of elementary school kids doing here anyway? Learning the very
basics.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Formally, the garden is a project of
Politics of Food, an organization based in downtown Rochester that tries to
re-connect people with the soil. POF set up shop on the Coca-Cola site to bring
in students from School 9 next door. School 9 principal Sharon Jackson couldn’t
be reached for comment. But watching the students at work in the garden makes a
clear statement — they’re enthusiastic about getting down to earth this way.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย A City School District blurb calls
the garden “a living, hands-on learning experience for students, who learn
about plants and the environment.” The learning takes place not only outdoors,
but in the school’s “grow lab,” where the plants are started from seed, and in
the classroom where students write about their experiences.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The measuring tools are not
standardized, and more real for it. “I thought it was good to grow vegetables,”
says Lekisha Mitchell. “We learn about nutritious foods to eat, how our bodies
work,” she says. Terri Burnett breaks in: “… how to keep our bodies healthy.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “We take the vegetables home and eat
them with our families,” adds Terri, who like other participants lives a few
blocks away.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย After four years, the garden looks
well dug in — but with the Coke deal at an end, the looks are deceiving.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย At the beginning of October, POF
members learned Coca-Cola was withdrawing its permission to use the space. “It
came as a real surprise to us,” says POF project organizer Mark House. The
garden, he says, was just ready for mulching, and in fact he’d recently
approached Coca-Cola about using more of the vast lawn. Now he’s searching for
an alternative garden space nearby, maybe off Joseph Avenue.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย City Hall may help find a suitable
space, House says. A big issue is walking distance. “Most of the children don’t
have transportation, and that increases our [location] problem,” he says.
Why is Coke shifting
gears right now? What are the company’s issues?
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “In general, the property [will be]
restricted to activities for official business only,” says Downstate-based
spokesperson Harriet Tolve, to whom our inquiries were forwarded.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “Because of the heightened threat
environment [post September 11], we’ve had to make this change,” she says.
Could Coke sell or lease the space to POF or another entity? No, says Tolve,
again citing security concerns. Other users of the property have been asked to
leave, too, she says, including some people who’ve been borrowing some parking
spaces.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Mark House says City Hall may help
find an alternative space for the POF garden. But whatever happens beyond this
growing season, House and his group have wider ambitions. “The School 9 program
is a model,” says House. “We hope to have a garden program in every elementary
school in the city,” he says. Indeed, he says, POF already runs such programs
at School 4 and School 36. Another program, he says, is under development at
School 20, and there’s one ongoing at St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church on
North Clinton.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย House also would like to see the
student gardeners bringing their surpluses to the Public Market. He draws a
parallel with the North East Neighborhood Association’s “GRUB” (Greater
Rochester Urban Bounty) project, for which POF supplies some technical know-how.
GRUB’s community garden, appropriately focused on a 2.5-acre urban mini-farm,
already has a sales stand on the north side of the Market. (Earlier this year,
GRUB bagged a $1 million W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant for its work.)
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Things could grow well beyond the
city, too. “We hope eventually to take a more regional approach,” says House.
The idea, he explains, is to get urban, suburban, and rural kids together.
There are possibilities for bringing old and young together, as well. For
example, House says he’s involved with a “Community Supported Agriculture”
group now forming in Canandaigua. “CSAs” link farmers directly to consumers;
the farmers (and often organizational supporters) provide the land; the
consumers invest their sweat and reap a portion of the harvest.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Interest in another kind of CSA —
“Congregational Supported Agriculture,” which links farms and religious
communities — is also on the rise, says House. He notes, too, that St. Paul’s
Episcopal Church on East Avenue and the Unitarian Church on South Winton Road
already are supporting urban community gardens.
When they were
sizing up the
sunflowers, students Lekisha Mitchell and Terri Burnett didn’t realize their
beloved garden will have to move or die.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Nor did they know they’re part of a
national movement that has seen ups and downs, and even struggles.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Many North American cities have
become home to community gardens. The structure can vary: Some gardens are run
collectively, with members dividing the produce and/or sharing it with
neighbors. Others are checkerboards of individual small plots. Some gardens, as
throughout New York City’s lower-income areas, occupy vacant lots and restored
wastelands. Others, as in Toronto’s High Park, use long-held public land that’s
been set aside for the purpose.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย But too frequently the gardens
aren’t granted tenure, so to speak.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย During the 1990s economic boom in
New York, for example, real estate interests, with the backing of former mayor
Rudy Giuliani, sought to turn many of the city’s 700 publicly-owned,
neighborhood-controlled community gardens into upscale apartment buildings and
the like. Faced with seeing their handiwork bulldozed and/or auctioned off,
gardeners protested, even to the extent of chaining themselves to fence posts.
The gardens lost a little ground, but the resistance “galvanized support for
community gardening,” says a report from a Big Apple-based group called Just
Food.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The Just Food report makes it clear
the stakes are high for some. Community gardens now provide a big slice of many
urban residents’ daily food requirements, for example. And this role will
become more important as a teetering economy drives more and more people to
emergency food providers.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The typical community garden
produces food of high quality, too — organic, fresh, packed with nutrients.
Maybe, you might hope, of sufficient quality to compensate for the high volume
of carbonated beverages in the American diet.
This article appears in Oct 9-15, 2002.
