Ithaca Community Gardens http://ithacacommunitygardens.org Hidden Impacts o f the Ithaca Community Gardens Recognizing the limitations, hazards, a nd shortcomings of the industrial farming system, c ommunities a cross the US a re increasingly seeking out opportunities to reconnect to how a nd where their food is produced. Global c limate c hange is further reorienting our food production a nd buying patterns, c alling us to relocalize in order to diminish our c arbon footprints, a nd increase the resiliency of our local c ommunities. Healthy local food systems e xist a s a full spectrum of food producers, from backyard gardens to CSAs, incubator/startup farms a nd the familiar workhorse farms that supply our local farmers’ markets. This mosaic a llows people of a ll e xperience levels to e ngage in food production a t the level of their own desire, interest, a nd a bility, c reating more informed c onsumers, reducing the a mount of food shipped from far­off places, a nd supporting the local e conomy. To recreate this local food e conomy Ithaca a nd Tompkins County must have e ntry points for a ll members of our c ommunity—entry points that a re a ccessible, a ffordable, a nd a vailable. For those with a ccess to front and back yards suitable for growing food c rops, we need a policy e nvironment that e nables a nd promotes gardening. For those without yards, we need c ommunity spaces that provide this a ccess, a nd a s Ithaca fills in, the demand for c ommunity gardening space will only become more a cute. For e veryone in our community, we need e ducational c omponents to strengthen our gardening knowledge a nd skill sharing, such as those provided by Cooperative Extension, school gardens, Groundswell, the Ithaca Children’s Garden, and the Ithaca Community Gardens, managed by P roject Growing Hope. Perhaps most importantly, we must face the c hallenges of the 21st c entury a s a c ommunity. Community gardens c reate a badly­needed milieu, grounded in working with natural rhythms, a nd focused on c reating a healthful a bundance within a c ommunity setting. They provide a c ommon ground for people from diverse backgrounds to interact, a nd they e ngender sharing, c ooperation a nd c ollective knowledge building. Project Growing Hope, through the Gardens, plays a vital role in c onnecting broad sections of the community, a nd laying the foundation for a future Ithaca that is resilient, vibrant a nd healthy in the face of climate c hange. With no paid staff, no permanent funding, no secure land tenure, a nd relying on 1800 plus hours a year in volunteer labor, the Gardens a ccomplishes much more than simply growing more vegetables locally, we c reate c ommunity from the ground up. Enhancing the v alue a nd impact of other c ommunity services The Gardens provide a no­cost space for local c ommunity groups to e ngage diverse populations in healthy, and c onstructive outdoor a ctivities, giving them skills useful for a n e ntire lifetime: ● Challenge Work force S olutions : Teaching garden a nd work skills to a dults with developmental disabilities ● ¡CULTURA! Ithaca : A Latino c ultural group working to e ngage Latinos in the gardens a nd grow herbs that a re traditionally used in Latin c ooking but not e asily a vailable in Ithaca ● Dispositional Alternatives Program, Family & Children's S ervice o f Ithaca: Engaging a djudicated teens in growing food ● Northern Lights Learning Center : Teaching homeschooled c hildren gardening Hidden Impacts of the Ithaca Community G ardens – Project Growing Hope 1 ● Rainbow Healing Center: A local organization dedicated to c ultural a rts a nd healing, using the gardens for a pplied a spects of their work ● Unity House : Teaching gardening to people in recovery, with mental illness, a nd with developmental disabilities Fostering healthy c ommunity ● ¡CULTURA! Ithaca held a “Brown & Green” Earth Week e vent a t the Gardens in 2016, meant to engage Latinos more in the e nvironmental movement ● Four food donation plots, where over 1000 pounds of food were donated to local food pantries in 2016; providing e ssential a ccess to local, fresh, organic produce ● Cornell Cooperative Extension returned their c ompost demonstration site to the Gardens in 2016, a nd initiated a new c ommunity c omposting program c alled the “Compost Learning Collaborative” ● A local doctor, trained in herbal medicine, is growing healing herbs to use with her patients ● Space for local groups to lead gardening workshops a nd e ducational opportunities ● Mobilization of thousands of hours of volunteer service, often involving group e xercises a nd e ducational and skill­building opportunities a round c omposting, garden plot c are, a nd other practical gardening aspects ● Functional, beautiful a nd publicly a ccessible c ommunity space, providing e ssential benefits including habitat for pollinators a nd songbirds, open space, a nd direct c ontact with nature for a ll the c ommunity, including c hildren a nd the e lderly ● A c ommunity herb garden in the southeast c orner provides c ulinary a nd medicinal herbs for the broader community, with e ducational sessions a nd open times for c ommunity members to c ome plant, harvest, and simply learn a bout different herbs a nd their properties Creating opportunities for g rowth a nd integration The Gardens has a lways been a welcome home to recent refugees from rural a reas a round the world, particularly from Southeast Asia, a nd we c urrently host a thriving c ommunity of gardeners from Burma. Beyond simply providing the Karen a nd Shan c ommunities a place to grow their own vegetables (many traditional varieties of which a re otherwise unavailable in Ithaca), the Gardens has become a vital connection for them to other resources in the c ommunity. Karen a nd Shan gardeners meet neighboring gardeners, share resources a nd tools, a nd volunteer side­by­side on garden work days, a llowing them to improve their language skills a nd form new c onnections in their a dopted c ommunity. Connections such a s these often lead to other opportunities. After several unsuccessful a ttempts, Groundswell’s farm incubator program was finally a ble to c onnect with local Burmese gardeners by reaching out to the Gardens. As a result, several families who have been gardening a t the Gardens a re now e nrolled in the incubator farm program, a nd developing business plans to grow traditional Burmese vegetables for sale in the underserved Utica market. Beyond e nabling recent immigrants to grow traditional vegetables a nd save money, the Gardens provides a vital link for them to the broader c ommunity, a nd helped them develop business a nd opportunities which make our e ntire c ommunity a richer place. Creating a hub for resource, k nowledge a nd e xperience sharing Ultimately the Gardens, like other c ommunity gardens, is much more than simply a place for 150 households to grow vegetables. Unlike individual backyard gardens, c ommunity gardens leverage proximity The Hidden Impact of the Ithaca Community G ardens – Project Growing Hope 2 to c reate new opportunities for sharing knowledge, resources, seeds, e xperience a nd c ultures. Far from simply being a resource for low­income residents, Ithaca Community Gardens gardeners c ome from a ll walks of life a nd e very a ge group—36% of gardener households include seniors over 65, while 55% include children. Gardening background varies, a s well, with 37% of plots being run by new gardeners, who a re often side­by­side with people who have decades of gardening e xperience. Human c ultures a re inseparable from a griculture, a nd the c ommunity a spects of the Gardens foster a rediscovery a nd sharing of our diverse agricultural heritage, while preserving a nd disseminating c ountless heirloom seed varieties through their active use, making the Gardens both a c ommunity knowledge hub a nd a living seed library. The c ommunity herb garden further c omplements this by c reating a n a ccessible space for the broader c ommunity to learn about c ulinary a nd medicinal herbs through hands­on, in­the­ground e xposure. Multiplier e ffects The broader benefits of the c ommunity garden e xtend well beyond the 150 plots to include over 130 official gardener share partners, hundreds more informal share partners, dozens of c ommunity plot members, a nd many more who c ome a nnually to e njoy the garden a s a n open space. For 32% of gardeners, produce grown in their plots is shared with five or more people, a nd 66% of gardeners report sharing their produce with 3 or more people. For 35% of gardeners, over half of the vegetables they c onsume during the gardening season c ome from their garden plots, a nd 63% report that food from their plots forms a “very important” or “essential” part of their diets. Indeed, on less than three a cres of land, the Gardens' impact spreads widely throughout the Ithaca c ommunity, c reating a vital living resource that benefits us a ll. Community g ardens a re local, low impact, a nd c arbon friendly Despite being separated from the Northside a nd Fall Creek neighborhoods by Route 13, a nd being surrounded by industrial land a nd the lake, 61% of gardeners c ome from within 10 blocks of the garden, and 76% of gardeners primarily get to the gardens by foot or bike, demonstrating that c ommunity gardens are, indeed, incredibly local. In 2 016 the Ithaca Community Gardens c elebrated 4 0 y ears of service to the Ithaca c ommunity Citations: 2015 Project Growing Hope Member Survey 2013 Project Growing Hope Factsheet The Hidden Impact of the Ithaca Community G ardens – Project Growing Hope 3