chicago is fortunate to have an organization called neighborspace that acquires land from the govt or landowners for the purpose of community gardens. check out their site and maybe contact them for further direction. good luck in your quest!
neighbor-space.org happy growing, elizabeth On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 11:01 AM, < [email protected]> wrote: > Send Community_garden mailing list submissions to > [email protected] > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > [email protected] > > You can reach the person managing the list at > [email protected] > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Community_garden digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Permanent land for community gardens (Thea Maria Carlson) > 2. Re: Permanent land for community gardens (Jack Hale) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 27 May 2009 14:38:17 -0500 > From: Thea Maria Carlson <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [Community_garden] Permanent land for community gardens > To: [email protected] > Message-ID: > <[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Public Health Law and Policy has some great resources on their website ( > http://healthyplanning.org/), including model policy language and talking > points. > There are also a number of links to resources on "the case for community > gardens" and examples of city policies throughout the US and Canada on the > City of Vancouver's Food Policy Pages: > > http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/socialplanning/initiatives/foodpolicy/projects/gardenresource.htm > Here in Chicago an organization called Neighbor Space ( > http://neighbor-space.org/) helps protect community gardens from > development > in partnership with government agencies, nonprofit organizations and > community groups. > > -- > Thea Maria Carlson > Program Coordinator, Urban Initiative (Chicago) > > Angelic Organics Learning Center > Chicago Office > 6400 S Kimbark Ave > Chicago, IL 60637 > > Office: 773.288.5462 > Mobile: 773.517.2193 > Fax: 425.969.0317 > > 10 Years and Growing - celebrating a decade of growing food, farmers, and > friendships! > > Angelic Organics Learning Center helps urban and rural people build local > food systems. The Learning Center offers opportunities to grow healthy food > and a better quality of life, connect with farmers and the land, and learn > agricultural and leadership skills. To find out more, visit > www.learngrowconnect.org. > > On Wed, May 27, 2009 at 10:53 AM, Kirsten at Gardening Matters < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > Hello all, > > > > It's late spring and so it's no surprise that there's a lot of push for > > more > > community gardens (now!). This is causing all sorts of issues that seem > to > > be sapping from our energy to just support existing community gardens. > All > > this just re-enforces for me that we need permanent land for community > > gardens in order for them to fulfill their potential to benefit their > > communities. > > > > Is there an argument already made (official and in writing) for permanent > > land for community gardens. What examples are there to make land > permanent > > and whether the city/other government body is a partner in this goal? > > > > I sincerely apologize if this is written up somewhere already, but also > > there's been so many changes even in the last year, I wonder if there > > aren't > > new examples of city's helping to get permanent land for communtiy > > gardening. > > > > your input is greatly appreciated! Kirsten > > > > -- > > Kirsten Saylor > > Gardening Matters > > office: 612-492-8964 > > [email protected] > > www.gardeningmatters.org > > > > 2009 Parade of Community Gardens! August 22nd from 10am - 2pm! > > Community garden registration due by June 1. > > > > > > > > -- > > Kirsten Saylor > > Gardening Matters > > office: 612-492-8964 > > [email protected] > > www.gardeningmatters.org > > > > 2009 Parade of Community Gardens! August 22nd from 10am - 2pm! > > Community garden registration due by June 1. > > -------------- next part -------------- > > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > > URL: < > > > http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20090527/2823de3a/attachment.html > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of > > ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and > to > > find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org > > > > To post an e-mail to the list: > [email protected] > > > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: > > > http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org > > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: < > http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20090527/75615d14/attachment.html > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Wed, 27 May 2009 22:53:37 -0400 > From: Jack Hale <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [Community_garden] Permanent land for community gardens > To: [email protected] > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"; Format="flowed"; > DelSp="yes" > > Ahh?the garden permanence question. Comes around every so often and > is as hotly debated as, well, everything else on this list serve. > > Seems that owning gardens is the ultimate way to protect them from > development. Well, it is, but it might be overkill. If you are > going to own it, you may get into some interesting issues like > increased liability exposure and the burden of demonstrating to the > tax man that your organization and your use of the land should be > exempt from property taxes. There is also the fact that community > gardens tend to operate on half a shoe string, and purchasing or even > accepting property and properly maintaining it can cost a bunch of > money. Of course, if you are a land trust or otherwise in the > business of owning land, perhaps these are minor issues. For me, the > scary bit would be the fear of owning a garden that people didn?t > want to use anymore. It happens. Neighborhoods thin out, > populations change, and things happen to chase people away. It?s > tough to get stuck holding the bag. Quite a few years ago I spent an > inordinate amount of time trying to turn loose some properties that > my organization had accepted in haste, that people had lost interest > in, and that we had no capacity to maintain. These were neighborhood > playgrounds, but the principal is the same. > > That being said, I tend to apply a corollary of Honigman?s Law > (Community gardening is 50% gardening and 100% politics). The > corollary is that real garden permanence comes from people?s > commitment to the gardens and their willingness to do what it takes > to preserve them. New York City?s relatively recent experience with > loss of gardens notwithstanding, a strong, committed, functioning > community is the best kind of garden permanence. Of course > developing a community garden policy for your town or getting > community gardening to be a recognized land use is worthwhile, but > its value has as much to do with the organizing, education, and > publicity efforts that go into it as it does with the final outcome. > Same thing goes for open garden days, community events, education > programs, clean-up days, and garden designs intended to appeal to > neighbors and passers-by. Community gardeners can be solitary folks > most often found bent over their carrot patches and little inclined > to come out for meetings or group activities. The effort to create > the sense of community, however, can make all the difference to the > garden?s survival in the face of development pressure or other > disasters. > > So, go ahead with whatever makes sense to provide legal garden > permanence. I don?t think there is a perfect answer for what is the > right thing to do. That being said, do everything you can to build > community in and around your gardens. Behave like a community > organizer (it?s popular again). Never do anything by yourself. > Don?t be so helpful that everyone becomes dependent upon you. Don?t > have a meeting if you can have a party. Make sure everybody has > something to do. Learn people?s names. (These are real organizing > guideline. If they seem odd to you, you may want to study the > subject a little.) > > Good luck, and keep growing. > > JH > > Jack Hale > [email protected] > 860-478-2101 > > > > On May 27, 2009, at 11:53 AM, Kirsten at Gardening Matters wrote: > > > Hello all, > > > > It's late spring and so it's no surprise that there's a lot of push > > for more > > community gardens (now!). This is causing all sorts of issues that > > seem to > > be sapping from our energy to just support existing community > > gardens. All > > this just re-enforces for me that we need permanent land for community > > gardens in order for them to fulfill their potential to benefit their > > communities. > > > > Is there an argument already made (official and in writing) for > > permanent > > land for community gardens. What examples are there to make land > > permanent > > and whether the city/other government body is a partner in this goal? > > > > I sincerely apologize if this is written up somewhere already, but > > also > > there's been so many changes even in the last year, I wonder if > > there aren't > > new examples of city's helping to get permanent land for communtiy > > gardening. > > > > your input is greatly appreciated! Kirsten > > > > -- > > Kirsten Saylor > > Gardening Matters > > office: 612-492-8964 > > [email protected] > > www.gardeningmatters.org > > > > 2009 Parade of Community Gardens! August 22nd from 10am - 2pm! > > Community garden registration due by June 1. > > > > > > > > -- > > Kirsten Saylor > > Gardening Matters > > office: 612-492-8964 > > [email protected] > > www.gardeningmatters.org > > > > 2009 Parade of Community Gardens! August 22nd from 10am - 2pm! > > Community garden registration due by June 1. > > -------------- next part -------------- > > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > > URL: <http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/ > > community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/ > > 20090527/2823de3a/attachment.html> > > _______________________________________________ > > The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one > > of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the > > ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http:// > > www.communitygarden.org > > > > To post an e-mail to the list: > > [email protected] > > > > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: http:// > > list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/ > > community_garden_list.communitygarden.org > > -------------- next part -------------- > An HTML attachment was scrubbed... > URL: < > http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20090527/9f1d6118/attachment.html > > > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of > ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to > find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org > > To post an e-mail to the list: [email protected] > To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: > http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org > > End of Community_garden Digest, Vol 755, Issue 1 > ************************************************ > -- Elizabeth Leipold Mindful Practices mindfulpracticesyoga.com [email protected] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://list.communitygarden.org/pipermail/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org/attachments/20090528/8cacfbaa/attachment.html> _______________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: http://list.communitygarden.org/mailman/listinfo/community_garden_list.communitygarden.org
