Roots and Wings has three gardens on South Church's campus dedicated to supporting community food resilience. All are welcome to learn and grow together!
We have also inspired Dobbs Ferry Pollinator Pathway at the High Street Parcel and have contributed the seed monies for a garden at First Presbyterian Church in Mt Vernon.
Kitchen Garden - a beautiful spot behind South Church including a pollinator garden, an herb garden, three large beds devoted to veggies grown for the Pantry, plots for individual gardeners, and a composting system. Community gardening time is Saturdays, 10 - noon. All are welcome! Garden Manager: Iris Hiskey Arno
- Garden Rules
- Although The Kitchen Gardeners have changed over the years, here's an introduction to the group.
Labyrinth Garden - our first garden, a native pollinator spiral in front of South Church, along Broadway. MORE. Garden Managers: Roubi Eliopoulis and Liz Gabay
Manse Garden - a permaculture-inspired new project behind the Manse, on the north side of the church. We hope to grow annual vegetables, giving us an opportunity to get to know the land, before considering planting perennials and making bigger changes. Community gardening time is Sep 8 - Nov 17 (off Nov 10), on Fridays (4:00 - 5:00 pm) when the weather allows. Cancelled in case of rain, high winds, thunderstorms, and temperature extremes.. MORE Garden Manager: Greg Rosen
- Foraging and planting programs
resilience, transformation and community
by Marcello Taiano, Garden Manager
When I
first heard of the kitchen garden, it really resonated with me. I looked at it
and thought, “This is it.” I think it was meant to be that I became involved
with it.
My parents
and I moved from Argentina when I was seven. It was hard for all of us. When we
came we didn’t know the language. We didn’t have anyone. What saved me was that
that my dad and I became homesteaders in the south Bronx with another six
families and individuals. For those who are not familiar with homesteading, it
was a movement to rehabilitate living spaces with some city support and sweat
equity. We met as a group every Saturday for the next six years organizing a
plan of reconstruction as well as working within the building in order to try
to preserve its deteriorating structure. This was in the mid 80’s and it took
us a total of nine years to compete the project as we say many members come and
go along the way. The last people standing developed a very strong bond and we
will always identify ourselves as homesteaders.
It was
through another homesteader that I discovered community gardening. The Cherry
Tree Association, a community group made up of squatters, had taken control of
a large plot of land on Willis Ave, about four clocks from our homesteading
site. This group was made up of an eclectic and diverse set of individuals who
had the common goal to transform an ugly plot into a sustainable and productive
garden. It took a couple of years but at the end we were able to grow almost
any kind of vegetables, we built a casita for meetings, and even raised
chickens. During this time we visited dozens of gardens all over the city. We
compared gardening methods, admired each other’s productions and spoke about
ways of protecting our gardens from the city urban plans. We were constantly
under the threat of having our gardens taken away from us but through
petitions, rallies and community meetings we were able to fight city hall and
save almost all of our gardens. I’m proud to say that this garden at Willis Av,
after over 25 years, is still thriving with new and old members. The same is
true for 272 Alexander Ave, our homesteading project where my dad still lives
today.
Like the
kitchen garden, just takes resilience, transformation and community.--Marc
Taiano, at South Church Celebrates Roots & Wings, April 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment