garden group issue

L* G*

Hello,

Please bear with me as I explain this situation and offer any 
suggestions/fresh ideas you may have:

I'm working with a garden leader/coordinator at a small neighborhood community 
garden that has been struggling ever since it began about 5 years ago.  She 
just took on leadership this year because no one else would do it.  There has 
been about 4 different leaders since the start of the garden.  The overriding 
attitude in the garden (according to the current leader) is that people come 
to their plot, it's their own, they take care of it and leave.  It is not 
really a community effort.

This new leader really wants to implement some rules and make this a beautiful 
site (it's been quite haggard and run down).  Incidentally, the current garden 
leader is blind, she can see shadow and light and has a garden plot and a home 
health aid to read for her etc.  She lives next door to the garden.  So we set 
up a meeting a couple of weeks ago for today but now, one gardener says their 
going out of town, the others cannot be reached, the other said he just might 
not come.

So I told the leader to just have a meeting that focuses on next year and 
invite current gardeners and any potential gardeners.  Just write this year 
off and focus on next year.  The resources from the city of Cleveland may be 
canceled if they do not do well enough next year - just because it's been so 
many years that they've received resources and have not utilized them.

Honestly, I don't have any answers at this point - just trying to do the best 
we can.  Any suggestions?!

Thanks, Lynn Gregor
OSU Extension
Cleveland, Ohio

dhassle1@kent.edu

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