8

The readings for this week marry urban landscapes with agriculture, focusing on the land tenure part of the food equation. In the preserving Community Gardens piece, Cobb frames community gardens as a space designated for much more than production, but for community members to learn from one another and create a healthier community (Cobb, 2011). However, in order to create a space for (and by) the community it is crucial to understand the process of securing land. In the "Saving Land" piece, Daniels brings to light the sophisticated process of gaining land tenure for farm use. Proponents of land preservation assert that preserving large blocks of land (zoned for agriculture uses) curb sprawl and limit chances for development. Daniels also tackles the issue of the bureaucracy that surrounds agricultural land tenure. 

Hodgson delves into the past and present planning practices that have been used to both encourage and discourage urban agriculture from taking place within city limits. Although we have talked about this extensively in class, this chapter delves into the 20th century WWI and WWII era. Until now, I had not realized how pivotal community gardens were during this time, with over 20 million food gardens constructed in 1943 (Hodgson, 2012). At such a vulnerable time in our country (and all over the world) it makes sense that residents would return to their roots, pull out their shovels, and begin to sow their seeds. During a time of such uncertainty, growing his or her own food must have been of great comfort. Despite the abundance of food gardens during this time, by the mid 20th century the industrialization of the United States' food system was well underway. In order to combat this grassroots organizations encouraged land preservation through land trusts and community gardens. 

Through land trusts, urban agriculture, "the production, distribution, and marketing of food within the cores of metropolitan areas" (Hodgson,2012) is possible. Through this definition, Hodgson asserts that urban agriculture is "embedded within the community." 

Food Production Planning--New or Not?

In reflection of this week's readings, we point to one storied example. Boston's Roxbury neighborhood is a hackneyed planning feat that cross a number of planning thresholds. From community organization through true "grassroots" mobilization, the scenario also presents an innovative approach to protect the residents, land owners, and the land itself. Through the creation of a land trust, stakeholders were able to pool their resources and preserve their future interests. "Trusts" feels more like a term that is reserved for the cash-rich, entrepreneur-type, but in actuality it is not a new concept to planning, land development, or property rights. Oftentimes, as the readings of this week suggest in more nuanced terms, the solutions to creative planning processes are right under our noses. It seems that TDRs, transfer of development rights, have only gained traction in the last ten years or so, but they are yet another planning tool that is right under our noses. They are detailed in many comprehensive plans, and accepted by city planning departments. Perhaps, if these tools have been present all along, property owners and residents do not have enough knowledge on their existence or ultimate use. Breeching into this topic actually segues into more theoretical planning practices. Is it the obligation of the government agency to educate property owner's on the subtle tools that could affect their property rights or be an instrument of solution in problem-stricken areas? Could the government have an incentive to not detail this information to property owners? How is it possible to educate everyone on the matter? The answer is that it is not. Few civilians are trained planners, lawyers, or real estate developers. So how do we bridge the communication gap in this situation? It would be costly, time-consuming, and, for lack of a better word, "tricky."


This forays into "advocacy planning," where the city planner takes on a cause for a certain neighborhood, enclave, or community acting as their advocate. Advocacy planning, arguably, does not have an extensive presence in the planning world. With the onset of the economic recession, cases have popped up across the country in response to the real estate bubble collapse, among other factors, to cope with defunct urban lands and the like. However, that still does not make advocacy planning instantly popular or practical. So, the question remains (though slightly evolved); how can planners, who are not only trained in technical methodologies, but also undeniably interested in the livelihood of citizens and communities, use their knowledge to provide support to property owners and blighted areas? It is not always within the realm of our duties to do so. As great as it would be, "planning" is not always initiating exciting and innovative projects because we know it would work or that its best. We have to lay the foundation for others (the private sector) to intervene within the framework set up by planners. We can use the comprehensive plan to nudge development in one direction or another, and if there's a budget surplus or amenable political climate then we might be able to initiate creative projects. Yet, we must accept a reality where that does not always happen (it is possible, though). Particularly, when we consider the future of planning for food production in a state like Florida (where comprehensive plans are legally mandated), there is no requirement or incentive to include elements expressly related to food production. Currently, we have to rely on citizens self-educating and put our trust in the language and tools laid out in comprehensive plans (TDRs, easements, etc.). Community gardens and food trucks are relatively new on the planning time scale, and many municipalities do not have the ordinances in place to accommodate them or in turn no precedence makes it difficult to establish such codes. Organizations like APA can use their state chapters to translate messages that promote sustainable food production planning and offer solutions in the meantime. Planning for food production cannot declare success until stakeholders are aware of the tools available to them, and have the resources to implement their unique visions.

Urban Agriculture and Tallahassee

     It wasn't until my second semester Freshman year that I discovered the urban farm niche of Tallahassee. In a city that seems relatively cold at times with its strips of bars, gas stations, and traffic,it was hard to believe that there are hidden enclaves of organic food scattered throughout town. A friend and  I had recently hear of the Damayan Garden Project tucked next to Lichgate park an decided to check it out. As much as I enjoyed playing in the dirt and trying the different herbs, it was the community involvement that I found most enamoring. They used the garden as a tool to teach kids self-dependency and nutrition. 

     Later on I did a project for my Intro to Urban Planning class on iGrow in Frenchtown. Even though we just dropped by unannounced to check it out, the volunteers and garden managers were incredibly open to talking about the work they do, the kids they work with, and the awesome food they harvest. Not only do they offer a safe, educational outlet for the neighborhood kids to spend their afternoons, but they spread the excess vegetables around the area to surrounding neighbors. In our last class we mentioned how one of the motivations for small, locally based markets to offer fresh produce is because they feel that it is needed in the community. In a way, this reminds me a lot of iGrow's incentives for offering these resources to people who may find themselves in a food desert deprived of fresh vegetables. 

     Efforts to tighten restrictions on CAFOs like those mentioned in the Tom Daniels' article as well as the surfacing of issues associated with mass agriculture in general seems to have pushed people to take matters into their own hands and create their own food sources without having to worry that there is too much or too little regulation.  However, how wide spread can this movement grow when, like the NRC article explains, there is such an incredibly high demand for all kinds of crops. This seems too far out of an urban farmer's hands, especially without the pragmatic cooperation of the city's urban planners. Acquiring the land for preservation and perhaps eventual food use seems to be an option for cities to create a green space as well as incorporating urban agriculture into the landscape. Although iGrow, Ripe City, Damayan, and other agriculture plots may not be equipped to supply everyone in the entire city, they still function as an integral part of our communities and need zoning and regulations that support their efforts.

Week 8; A Reflection on Urban Gardens

                 Back in the day, everyone used to tend their own gardens and unite as a community to create common gardens for the water effort. However, with the rise of urbanization and a period of tremendous prosperity, gardening fell out of favor while supermarkets and restaurants became the go-to for daily food. Now, community gardens are making a comeback to help foster proper nutrition and neighborhood involvement starting in low-income areas.
                 I thought creating an urban garden would be easy-just find some land and seeds- but that's not all; there's a lot of work to be done that's not including any plants! The SCLT (Southside Community Land Trust) in Providence, RI deals with all the details on how to get a community garden going; acquiring vacant plots of land, leasing it to resident-farmers and all the paperwork. I used to live in Rhode Island and the Broad Street area isn't the greatest; it's industrial-like and a bit run-down looking. Yet, they transformed vacant lots into fresh new gardens and it's positively impacted the community. My aunt goes down there to buy fresh foods and vegetables that are in season and she loves it. It's good food, wholesome and you're keeping the money flowing within the community. It's been worth it because it's been such a success that they want to expand and grow even more.

                  To make a community garden work you need a lot of democracy in the decision-making, diversity and a set of rules so everyone can agree on so they can garden in peace. This can be a difficult thing to do but it really is a great thing to see a bunch of people get togethor and make something beautiful; everyone uniting in the name of good food and getting back to the land.

Week 8 Reflection

Two weeks ago I went to my first community garden here in Tallahassee at Igrow Whatever You Like in South City. I was immediately met with challenges as I drove up and down all of Orange Avenue. Upon finally finding the location I was in awe at the mounds of compost laying on one half of the garden. As the physical labor began I met a few of the leaders and asked them where their soil comes from and the potatoes we were planting came from. While the garden is organic I found out that the soil they use comes from larger agribusinesses and goes through a particular process before arriving at the community garden. This means that while the growing technique may be organic the soil doesn’t necessarily come from an organic business. This was one of the risks that Urban Agriculture: Growing Healthy, Sustainable Places mentioned facing urban gardens.

Soil contamination can have a negative and subtle impact on famers and consumers through their interaction and consumption of the crops grown. As the article mentions, without proper soil testing and cleaning it could have a worse impact on the environment. On the other hand, one solution the article mentioned that I found interesting was mixing 2 parts of organic compost with 1 part of the soil that was already used and processed. It said the natural components of the organic compost would break down any toxins within the previously used one. Based on my experience at Igrow it appears they already do this because of the multiple smaller mounds of compost they have fermenting within the community garden’s grounds. It’s a great feeling to be able to apply what’s read from these articles to infer and understand what’s going on solely from observation.

Week 8 Reading

This week's Hodgson chapter gave an in-depth definition of urban agriculture in the United States, from its history to the ways in which the current planning environment can either facilitate or discourage its practice. I was aware that urban agriculture has been a part of U.S. cities since colonial times, but I was unaware of the extent of this involvement. For instance, I found it very interesting that New York's Central Park was once home to a dairy operation. From the reading it is clear that the presence of agricultural activities within cities was an effective strategy to address poverty and community development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, from providing milk to mothers and children (like an early WIC program) to the planting of vegetable gardens in housing projects directed to help recent immigrants (Hodgson, 2012).

The heyday of urban food production was in the early to mid-20th century, during the World Wars and Great Depression, which was the time when the federal government first became involved in urban agriculture initiatives. The victory gardens of this time period are well known, but the extent and productivity of these gardens were greater than I had ever realized. In the year 1943 there were over twenty million gardens on private and public lands throughout urban areas, which produced around ten million tons of fruit and vegetables (Hodgson, 2012). Despite the benefits of urban agriculture to society in these periods of duress, once the economy began to thrive in the latter 20th century and agriculture in the rural areas of the country industrialized, the practice of food production in cities lost much support. The combination of sub-urbanization and the development of zoning as a tool to separate perceived incompatible uses led to planners and local governments pushing farming further and further away from city centers (Hodgson, 2012).

Although urban agriculture is once again becoming a supported practice around the country, zoning ordinances still create barriers for many would-be farmers in cities. Other barriers include lack of secure land tenure, as many developers and planners may view urban farms and community gardens as interim uses, and difficulty accessing the resources necessary such as affordable land and uncontaminated soil and water. Hodgson also brings up lack of funding as a problem for farm and garden programs attempting to get started. It is interesting that commodity farms may receive around $75 billion in government subsidies, but the amount available for the USDA's Community Food Project Grants is only about $5 million (Hodgson, 2012).

Week 8: Reflection

Cobb Preserving Community Gardens Reading

I found it interesting finding out that not all community gardens are located in the urban core, but that’s where you find many of them. They are carved into church grounds, tucked into neighborhoods, nestled into school yards and planted front and center on vacant city lots. These gardens and those who tend them contribute to nurturing our community and make it thrive.

Members of community gardens long for their food to be safe, healthy, and fresh. It is a great feeling when you know how your food is handled, grown, harvested, and transported. This can inspire the reader to make educated decisions about our food choices.

Not only can a community garden help increase using healthy food choices, but it can also lead to other beneficial food projects within the community. For example, the author mentioned that in St. Paul, Minnesota a small children's garden that was established led to a community garden that attracted different cultures to volunteer in the garden. Later on, the volunteers wanted to be able to sell the produce that they cultivated in the community garden. This led to a local farmers market that was culturally diverse. It is safe to say that community gardens can actually be a catalyst to increase awareness within the community and aid to share concerns and interests link to food.

Share Your Garden

Week 8’s readings talk about the several methods in which gardens can benefit cites and people, but it might present itself with shortcomings depending on where it may be situated. Despite of the complications, gardens can be a snowballing initiative in all kinds of neighborhood for better community engagement and education.

Even when there may not be community gardens in several locations, residents can lead by example and set their own private garden. Although it is private, residents can begin community initiatives by sharing gardening techniques or calling for other neighbors to join their efforts. Ideally, the efforts for neighborhood engagement serve as a bottom-up approach to foster urban agriculture.

From my childhood’s memory, I can recall my mother and neighbors gathering and having regular conversations and seldom the garden topics would rise up, discussing the tiny peppers and tomatoes they would get at random times or how the Malay apples would be given away for free since there were so many and the block was covered little pink flowers from the blooming tree. Nowadays, the idea of enhancing a community’s relationship through urban agriculture reminisces old fashioned practices with renewed ideas.

Looking forward to living in a house, a backyard is a great tool to engage with neighbors and getting to know them, either by asking if they garden too or if they can share some insight about their backyard agriculture. Furthermore, it can create linkages between several sectors of the community. For instance, living nearby Frenchtown will allow me to either donate some of my crops or benefit from local community gardens to better my own private lot, creating a locally sustained exchange of agricultural materials. One prime example is iGrow, which can share some of the rich compost in exchange for organic material such as leaves, fruits, and vegetables that might be cut off from gardening maintenance.

Although it is only a small effort, gardening can be the incentive for communities to learn, cooperate, and interact with their surroundings, increasing the likelihood of them participating in activities that might benefit others and develop more sustainable cities.

What are some of your experiences in tending a private or community garden? How have you seen its benefits reflected on the community? 

Week 8 Reflection

The other day I went to Tom Brown Park with my sister and her dog and I thought about how Tallahassee does a great job of providing parks and natural spaces for its citizens. There are numerous trails and parks that can be enjoyed, and Tallahassee’s has an award winning Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Affairs department that has won acclaim for Cascades Park from the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA). So it’s safe to say that against other cities Tallahassee comparably does a good job of preserving the natural environment. A love for the natural environment drove this allocation for park space, just as the need for and the love of agriculture can better allocate space for sustainable agriculture and urban gardening. If in an emergency, parks in Tallahassee can be used for agricultural space. But Tallahassee already has a number of urban gardens, such as the community garden in the Seminole Manor neighborhood. I visited a group meeting for the garden one Saturday and discussed how the garden worked to provide better food access to its residents. I thought it was a great means of bringing the community together as well as being an educational opportunities for the children of the community to understand where their food comes from. These kinds of opportunities, coupled with a respect for nature and healthy eating options, can help promote the idea of sustainable agriculture and environmentalism among residents.

Week 8 Reflection

Community gardens play a very important role in the neighborhoods in which they are located. They can educate people about the origins of food. These gardens also bring people within the community together which strengthens the bonds within the community. These gardens also provide healthy affordable food for those who participate or for those in need within the community.

When I was a kid, my mom used to take me and my two sisters to a community garden in Orlando. To this day, I still vividly remember learning about gardening and the importance of clean, healthy food within a community. We would always take home some sort of vegetable or fruit that my mom would serve for dinner later that night. I always thought it was cool that we would eat something that we had created with our own two hands and pulled out of the ground earlier that day. The food that we ate from the community garden was much more enjoyable than any produce we would've bought at Publix.

I think everyone should go to a community garden at least once in their life because it is a very enlightening experience. You will meet other people within your community that care about food safety and accessibility. It is a great alternative to buying produce at the supermarket. You will know exactly where your produce comes from and how it was grown.

Gardens as Learning Spaces

This week's readings focused on planning for food production, but many of the readings touched on the fact that urban farms and community gardens are often spaces that focus on more than just food production. The Cobb article was about how land trusts, formally used to simply preserve pristine land, are now being used to preserve working land, such as urban farms. The Hodgson article expands on the topic of urban farming and mentions that in addition to food production, urban farms can be environmentally beneficial, can promote local economic development, and be used as learning tools: in schools and in the larger community. I personally have experience with this last point. Every semester students at my undergrad had the opportunity to participate in a student-initiated and -run class that worked in the campus's organic garden. My second semester I participated in this class. The class structure of working in the garden necessitated that, well, we learn something. Therefore, a large part of the class was reading about organic food, sustainable food production, and environmental stewardship. However, the class also focused on the role that public gardens have in their communities, the importance of eating well and sharing food, and of course, on taking care of the garden. This was my first experience gardening - literally, at all - and I found a lot of value in learning how to weed, plant seeds, properly water (we used a combination of drip irrigation and more traditional watering), turn compost, and harvest. My proudest semester accomplishment was coaxing some beans to grow up a wire structure I had built with another student. The class also drew campus attention to some of the college's "edible landscaping" - throughout campus we had many mulberry trees and a lot of trees that grew clementine-like fruits (I still don't know exactly what kind of fruit it was but it was delicious). One of the most important aspects of the class was organizing a "garden party" at the end of the semester as a campus-wide event. Nearly all of the food served at the party had been grown in the garden and it was an opportunity for students in the class to raise awareness about the garden and to share the harvest with others. Even though I did not participate in the class every semester, I nearly always came back for the garden party.

More so than an opportunity to learn about organic gardening and foster a community through food and environmental stewardship, throughout my time at my undergrad I came to see the campus's organic garden as an incubator for other campus-wide sustainability initiatives. The organic garden was started by students and was the first example of a campus community striving to be more sustainable. As awareness about the organic garden spread and its importance in campus culture grew, so did ideas for other sustainable campus initiatives. Largely because of the needs of the garden, a campus-wide composting initiative became institutionalized. Because students were so aware of the food resources available, students created an "edible landscaping" map of campus. The community garden was also a meeting space for food activists, who participated in food justice protests and organized community events around food. The student-run cafe on campus began accepting donations of food from the garden, and even started their own garden. So when I think of "community garden" or "urban farm," I don't only consider their food production value. I know so much more can be borne of a group of people coming together and growing and sharing food with each other and the community.

Week 8: Analysis on Urban Agriculture Readings

Urban agriculture can be defined as the intersection between local urban planning and agriculture. Traditionally, land use planning has de-emphasized the concept urban planning combining with agriculture as an effort to reduce public health impacts.  Large scale farming replaced outdated techniques which ultimately resulted in their removal in the urban setting and into the rural areas.
In modern times, urban agriculture is governed heavily at the local level in the form of community gardens, community outreach programs, training for food production, and etc. In summary, urban agriculture works to address the challenges that metropolitan areas face in the production, distribution, and marketing of food and other organic products. Urban agriculture can be supported in the form of noncommercial, commercial or hybrid methods. Interestingly, urban agriculture finds itself battling the stigma of being a rural activity by not only civilians, but government agencies. As a result, funding tends to be inadequate. The current attitudes posed against urban agriculture will fall in the responsibility of planners and politicians alike to bring awareness and collaboration.


A community in Boston decided that they wanted to design, build, and maintain their own garden by committing themselves to collaborative decision making for the project. Community gardens are a valuable asset in communities with individuals that are low-income or immigrants. The piece weighed the advantages and disadvantages of community gardens in the context of scale, time consumption, effort, and product. The progression of a community garden is heavily based on how far the community wants to take it. According to the piece, the community garden grew into a farmer's market because it increased the community's awareness and interest in food in the perspective of economic development, social justice, nutrition, and public health. In the case of the South End/Lower Roxbury Open Space Land Trust, this heavily diverse community garden founded in the early 90s was initiated by a fundraising event to protect scattered plots in the area. The relationship between the non-profit organization and the local government is remarkable given the fact that most of the beneficiaries, close to 75%, were people of color. How may low-income dense populated individuals that live near MSA's such as - Greater Los Angeles Area, New York City, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, etc utilize community gardens?

African American owned farmland have went from an estimated 15-20 million acres 50 years following the Civil War to less than 2 million acres in modern times. This dramatic decrease in land ownership amongst black farmers stem from policies in the 20th century. This trend is not limited to politics, in general, popularity of agriculture in the subsequent generations is dwindling. The article examines farmland preservation in conjunction to urban planning using innovative methods and strategies that include commerce and industry. The piece used Warwick Township as a case study reflecting a countywide farmland preservation program in the early 90s.  With $100,000 the township invested in a partnership to buy 75 TDRs from farmlands and create a bank, which resulted in negotiation with a township rather than the farmers individually. As of 2002, the township and its partners have bought 447 TDRs and preserved 1,1184 acres to date. Since 2001, the township has put over 688,000 into farmland preservation as a result of 278 sold TDRs, each averaging a modest 1,500 per acre. The article explained the ease of implementing such a plan to be easier in northern U.S due to the fact that in general, there is little public owned land. In regards to developing areas, I wonder how can this type of micro-financing strategy be implemented in those areas that face challenges with property rights?

Urban Agriculture development will need to be sustainable in order to support a growing United States population in terms of: meet human demands, enhance environmental resources and quality, economic viability, and the quality of life for society. The basis for any issue to gain public attention is by scientific research and recommendations. Food systems, although a fundamental components of our ecosystem, lacks scientific research to implement effective policies to directly guide food systems. Examining agroecosystems could provide socioeconomic and public health impacts outcomes. The lack of social entrepreneurial concerns in food systems seems to really be the reason that solutions to food systems come from the local-community level rather than the state or federal level. As majority of our population live in MSA's, I do wonder how sustainable agriculture can be achieved at a large-scale? I would expect that economics of scale may play a significant role in reducing food prices in these areas.

Week 8: Conserving Farmland through Planning

While urban agriculture and community gardens are sexy and cool to discuss (I totally need to have a rooftop garden at some point in my life), I'd like to bring up some points I thought were interesting from the Tom Daniels and NRC Sustainable Agriculture readings.

The Daniels reading was intriguing because it presented something positive that has been done to conserve lands. "The average age of these landowners is 57, meaning that tens of millions of acres could change hands within the next 20 years." This is somewhat scary, as the best option for the heirs of these farmers that are land rich but cash poor is to sell the farm when they acquire it. Greedy development could easily come in and take over, further adding to our sprawl.

Luckily, local governments are taking the initiative to conserve these lands. Methods include forming land trusts and transfer of development rights program. The Partnership of Rangeland Trust (PORT) that started in Colorado has been able to conserve ranchlands through leveraging funding. Ranchers can donate or sell easements to the fund, and in return, the value of the land is reduced so that heirs can avoid or have lower federal taxes on the land.

The Warwick Township's transfer of development rights program (TDR) shifts development from farmland onto designated growth areas. The township created a bank of TDRs and eventually established a "revolving funding program" as they would receive the development rights, turn the farms into TDRs, and then sell them to developers. This essentially diverts development to where Warwick wants it while preserving farmland.

The NRC Sustainable Agriculture reading discusses first, the definition of sustainable agriculture, and then what actions need to be taken to create it. Much research needs to be done on the synergies between human needs, the environment, economics, and the quality of life of farmers. The idea is that, through research, evaluation, and feedback, we will make small advancements towards sustainable agriculture while pursuing larger goals. Also, in my opinion, the connection made by the committee between America's and Africa's agriculture is not as strong as they say it is. I won't get into it, but I feel as though more local knowledge should be a major pursuit before attempting to implement any of these "expand market" points.

So here is my question: Is there a farmland conservation organization near Tallahassee? If not, how might one work?  Could the proximity to the state government be an advantage in starting one?

Week 8: Readings

This week’s readings demonstrated how community gardens and land trusts play a role in urban agriculture. Hodgson et al (2011) states that “community gardens were responses to deindustrialization, depopulation, increases in acreage of vacant land, and the failures of urban renewal but also to immigration”. She explains that urban agriculture increases access to fruits and vegetables, especially in low-income areas that have limited access to affordable, healthy foods and it provides opportunities for public health programming to improve nutrition, knowledge, attitudes and dietary intake. According to Cobb (2011), a community garden is a catalyst. “It increases the community’s awareness and interest in a host of shared concerns seen through the lens of food: economic development, social justice, nutrition, and public health”. Even though there is health, social, economic and environmental benefits, there are also risks to urban agriculture. Hodgson et al mentions a study that found that community gardens can lead to “increases in tax revenues of about half a million dollars per garden over a 20-year period”. She also mentions another study that assessed the neighborhood effects of 54 community gardens in St. Louis, Missouri, and found that the median rent and median housing costs (mortgage payments, maintenance costs, and taxes) for owner-occupied housing, as well as home ownership rates, increased in the immediate vicinity of gardens relative to the surrounding census tracts, following a garden opening.  Thus a risk for low income neighborhoods that decide to open a community garden is gentrification. Based on recent research there is a possibility that opening a community garden as a way to provide food security and revitalize a disadvantaged community, can ultimately lead to an increase in their rental property’s value, therefore escalating their rent. This is a huge concern! The people we are trying to help are in the end being harmed. A possible solution is having a rent control policy in place for all rental properties, but I worry how long this will last under the pressures of development and urban renewal. Do you have any other suggestions as to how we can prevent gentrification prior to implementing a community garden in a disadvantaged neighborhood?  

Leadership in Community Gardens

In Cobb’s article on community gardens, four essential elements that contribute to the preservation of community gardens were identified as “a mechanism for long term protection, long term sustainability of the owning organization, maintenance of the land so it can be seen as a neighborhood asset, and strong community support.” I think all of these characteristics lie in a strong leader, which in turn raises a question: what even is a strong leader?

I’m sure we all have ideas about who this person is, but in the end the term is pretty subjective. One person might value a leader’s ambition to sell the produce from the garden, while another may value their patience when working with senior citizens or children.

A strong leader would be able to acquire whatever mechanism allows for a long term ownership of community garden lands (Whether by land tenure or some other means). Additionally, he or she would be able to run the community organization in a sustainable way as well as have the knowledge and the capabilities required to keep up with the land’s appearance and productivity. They would also be able motivate and incorporate the community into the operation.

Although I’ve had many opportunities to meet strong leaders within our Tallahassee community, from non-profit owners to business entrepreneurs, one person specifically sticks out in my mind: the woman who runs the farm I work at. Not only is she does she have an infinite wealth of knowledge about permaculture, agriculture, and all things farming, she is encouraging, patient, and ambitious. She represents someone I think who would excel at running a community garden in a low-income neighborhood.

My questions to the class are: what does leadership in the community garden context looks like to you? Do you agree this is the most important factor in the garden or is there one you place more value on?