RE: farm or garden?

H* A*

Kirsten:

As a citizen run garden in mid-Manhattan. the Clinton Community garden  we
have been a meeting place and a site for AIDS memorial services, WICCA and
mainline religious ceremonies, kid's birthday parties, weddings and a place
where citizens can breathe clean air. We are a place where citizen
volunteers help nature create natural beauty in a site all-too-recently
covered in garbage and rubble. We help empower ordinary residents of our
community with the belief that they can indeed make a difference through
sweat equity and advocacy in an urban center.

How's that for value. PS, the lot's financial value ( if it were not Parks
land) would be in the low 7 figures.

Adam 

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Kirsten Walter [SMTP:kwalter@abacus.bates.edu]
> Sent:	Tuesday, November 09, 1999 3:53 PM
> To:	Honigman, Adam
> Cc:	community_garden@mallorn.com
> Subject:	RE: [cg] farm or garden?
> 
> 
> 
> Adam and company-
> 
> thank you for your response- i am familiar with the clinton community
> garden and have visited your website several times.  i appreciate you
> showing us what your garden is, but i guess the purpose of my question was
> to get into a deeper discussion of what we all see as the value of our
> gardens.  i know it is kind of like preaching to the converted, but i am
> trying to get an overview of what community gardeners see as the unique
> values that they offer. 
> for example, i know that in the garden we started this year,
> the focuses were food security within the housing projec we were located,
> empowerment and community building, as well as education through our
> learning garden.  what do you all see as the purpose and function of your
> gardens?
> 
>  so please, keep the information coming and thank you for your
> time. 
> 
> in service,
> kirsten
> 
> 		Hands on the Earth
> 	   we remember where the source 
> 		of our power lies.
> 			
> 			-Terry Tempest Williams
> 
> On Tue, 9 Nov 1999, Honigman, Adam wrote:
> 
> > Kirsten:
> > 
> > Urban commuity gardens fulfill in spirit the function of the old
> unenclosed
> > "Common". Although the last so-called "Common" I can think of in the US
> is
> > Boston Common, it is really a park run and administered by the
> municipality.
> > A community garden in NYC is usually an empty rubble and garbage strewn
> lot
> > that has been abandoned for many years. The neighborhood takes it over
> in a
> > kind of defacto eminent domain action ( usually ignored at first by the
> > government, supported in the early stages because community gardens
> become
> > city property where sociopathic activities are abstained, and then
> > undermined when the surrounding area's property values rise.) 
> > 
> > The garden that I'm involved with most intimately (
> > clintoncommunitygarden.org) was the first community garden to be
> transferred
> > to the NYC Parks Dept. It is run and maintained by neighborhood
> residents
> > for the Hell's Kitchen/Clinton community at large. The Clinton Community
> > Garden  is also an organic garden with a bee hive literally 2 1/2 blocks
> > away from Times Square. Please check out our website and our links to
> ACGA,
> > Green Guerillas and other organizations. 
> > 
> > Best wishes,
> > 
> > Adam Honigman
> > 
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From:	Kirsten Walter [SMTP:kwalter@abacus.bates.edu]
> > > Sent:	Tuesday, November 09, 1999 2:07 PM
> > > To:	community_garden@mallorn.com
> > > Subject:	[cg] farm or garden?
> > > 
> > > 
> > > Hey folks,
> > > 
> > > i was discussing community gardens as they deal with issues of social
> and
> > > environmental justice when my friend asked me how people within the
> > > community garden/urban ag. field distinguish between a farm and a
> garden.
> > > For example, could a large community garden be classified as a
> community
> > > farm or are there other components besides the scale? (such as
> ownership,
> > > use of the harvest, purpose of the garden/farm).  We were thinking
> about
> > > justice issues that tend to have to do with farming, such as pesticide
> > > use/exposure, farmworkers' rights, organic ag., CSA farms, etc.  Then
> we
> > > tried to think of justice issues associated with gardens such as
> poverty
> > > alleviation, social organizing, food security, community building,
> etc.
> > > 
> > > My questions for you are, what do you see as the difference between
> farms
> > > and gardens, especially community-oriented ones?  Also, what do you
> see as
> > > some of the justice issues surrounding the two?  Or, what do you see
> as
> > > the value of different types of community agriculture projects? I am
> > > working on this as a senior thesis and would love to hear your
> critical
> > > responses, as well as your inspiring ones.  Also, i'd love to see more
> > > discussion of some of the deeper themes of cg's to keep all of us
> engaged
> > > and motivated.
> > > 
> > > thank you so much, and i apologize for the lengthy note,
> > > 
> > > kirsten walter
> > > lewiston, ME
> > > 
> > > 		Hands on the Earth
> > > 	   we remember where the source 
> > > 		of our power lies.
> > > 			
> > > 			-Terry Tempest Williams
> > > 
> > > 
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > community_garden maillist  -  community_garden@mallorn.com
> > > https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
> > 

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