Hi, all, This is an important thread, I think.
As Adam rightly points out, our lists of community garden benefits depend to some extent on who will be reading them - certainly, it makes sense to ask 'what's in it for my negotiating partner'. All the same, it makes sense to me to hash out our lists, and our visions and mission statements, from time to time. Strangely, business has largely expropriated this process of late, in service of 'success' or 'greater profits'. I stray... I remember how affirming it was ages ago to stumble across the IFOAM definition of 'sustainable agriculture', back in a grad seminar at ag school. I think I still remember it: Ecologically sound, economically viable, socially/culturally/politically just, and humane. It gave me, and still gives me, a sense of solidarity and common cause with sisters and brothers seeking a to make this world a better, fairer and greener place. No doubt the big picture is important, and I appreciate what Keith and Adam suggest - their leads are valuable and thought-provoking. That said, let me put in two bits on behalf of plain ol' gardening, as opposed to 'greening' or 'civic ecology'. Not that either of these broadly defined areas aren't of great value - they are, absolutely! And certainly the Witmore Study appears to be uncovering some very interesting and plausible correlations between community gardens and dropping neighborhood crime rates. But I feel these are secondary considerations in community gardening. For me, community gardening at its roots is about something simpler, deeper, and more direct than any derivative effects it might have. Community gardens provide a place for everyone to garden, a place for all to get outside, dig in the soil, and grow stuff. That dirt-under-the-fingernails fundamental transcends the vast superstructure of appealing visions and grant-worthy outcomes that the community garden movement supports. Does this change the axiom that 'in community gardening, community comes first'? Not at all. However, I've observed that the most enduring and satisfying garden-inspired changes in communities come from rough hewn progress made from the grassroots up, by gardeners growing things and working together side-by-side. So, by all means, do urban ecology! Be a community greener! Come up with a creative new sobriquet to name what it is we do, to better inform ourselves, funders and foundations that community gardening is not "simply" community gardening, but countless other valuable things as well. At the same time, let's never forget the simple gardens at the heart of what we do. Don Boekelheide Charlotte, NC
