Philadelphia Inquirer 3/15 article comments

**A* <g*@earthlink.net>**

Dear Mike Groman,
Yesterday, St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden, as
guests of KYW 1060 and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society had a
memorable day at the Flower Show. Everyone connected with the "Flower Show
Friday" promotion treated us with courtesy and respect.
Imagine my surprise, therefore, when I picked up today's copy of the
Philadelphia Inquirer and read the article "Philadelphia Green will use the
$1 million raised at the Flower Show to help clear and reclaim blighted
land" in which you suggest to the reporter that "community gardens are
nice, but require too much attention."
When St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden was
founded in 1991 through the final years of the Harvest Show when we
consistently won the Community Garden Sweepstakes Award, we always
appreciated the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's attention. Like most
community gardens in the Philadelphia region, we are struggling to find new
sources of recognition, finances and technical assistance since political
fears of the power of community organizing prompted PHS to divert
Philadelphia Green's finances and attention to its current programs and
funding levels. I had hoped that events such as "Flower Show Friday" meant
that although community gardeners and Pennsylvania Horticultural Society no
longer work closely together, we could at least still respect each other's
efforts.
Telling the media that "community gardens are nice, but require too much
attention" is unnecessarily destructive in this time of meager funding
sources for all non-profits. Considering that sociological research
continues to suggest that community gardening is a useful and productive
activity for society, please consider it as a professional courtesy not to
denigrate the life's work of your former colleagues when your comments will
be noted in public.

Sincerely,

Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator
St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden
A mission of
St. John's United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, PA  19460

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