Brunswick, NJ: Lead Issues at Suydam Street Community Gardennear Rutgers U.

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The Daily Targum (Rutgers University) - Metro 
Issue: 2/21/05 

Lead poisons soil at downtown garden
By Paul Kaplan 

The city's Community Health and Environmental Coalition met Wednesday to 
discuss the future of the Suydam Street Community Garden located downtown between 
Livingston and Lee avenues.

Recent soil tests have shown that the perimeter of the garden has hazardous 
levels of lead. As a result, the garden has been closed to children. 

After an April 2004 symposium, five lead tests were performed, but the 
results were mixed. Some areas showed high levels of lead, while others showed 
acceptable results.

CHEC-NB consulted with the city-based Environmental Research Foundation and 
the University's New Jersey Urban Ecology Program to perform more thorough 
tests. The results came back clearly showing areas of soil with very high lead 
contamination, as well as safe areas, and the garden was officially closed.

A demonstration garden may be set up to show the city's citizens the dangers 
of lead in an urban environment. The soil of the garden would be covered by 
cloth and compost. The garden would then provide a safe and educational area for 
children to play, said University Professor Anne Bellows of the Food Policy 
Institute.

Bellows also encouraged her food systems class to participate in the 
restoration of the garden. Two of her students from Cook College, junior Christin 
Triantafilidis and senior Cheryl Zienkiewicz, were present at the meeting. Cheryl 
said she has worked on a student organic farm at the college and looks forward 
to helping with the Suydam Street Garden.

The garden would be an improvement on the diet of city residents, Zienkiewicz 
said. 

"There's a big epidemic of childhood obesity. Most of the childhood obesity 
is in cities where they do not have much area to play," Zienkiewicz said. "The 
good thing about gardening is they have access to healthy vegetables." 

CHEC-NB is currently writing a community-capacity building grant to the 
Healthier New Brunswick 2010 Initiative that seeks funding to start the overhaul of 
the garden. The Healthier New Brunswick 2010 Initiative was set up to help 
children and future generations through community and institutional 
partnerships.

Money received would be spent to purchase cloth, compost, tools and install a 
water tap, which garden coordinator Paul Sauers said would provide clean 
water to workers.

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