Garden hoedown
June 1, 2010
Story & Photos by Michael Timm
The view from the second floor of the Hide House, looking northeast on May 1. Some 50 volunteers made the project happen, transforming a grass lot used by area children for pick-up baseball games into a grid of garden plots for the Bay View neighborhood. Kids got into the community spirit as well—and into the mountain of dirt.
In just one day a collective dream became community reality. On May 1, a flurry of volunteers in orange T-shirts buzzed about the Bay View Hide House Community Gardens worksite, building a centerpiece of urban agriculture on a grassy lot bounded by Deer Place and Greeley and Burrell streets in northwestern Bay View.
They shared smiles and sweat and camaraderie as, over the course of the day, the space was transformed by people power-dozens of blond wooden frames laid out in a grid and filled with black earth for growing things.
Neighbors, charity organizations, and school groups now have a place to rent garden space if they previously lacked sufficient sunlit yards. This year’s plots were already sold out.
The garden architects. In front, left to right: Megan Limberg, Gretchen Mead, Bruce Rautmann, Jackie McGraw. In back, left to right: Bill Krawczyk, Melissa Tashjian, Teri Crain, Jason Haas.
The project is anticipated to increase the visibility of urban agriculture throughout the neighborhood and city, stimulating others to grow their own gardens. While the fruits of the volunteers’ labors have yet to be reaped, by the sheer scale of the community garden and the fact it actually got built as brainstormed, it’s also a testament to the power of local community organization.
The garden enjoys a three-year no-cost lease from the property owner, Hide House 2007, LLC, which owns the former Greenebaum Tannery property and is developing the nearby Hide House Lofts. The garden project is a cooperative effort of Victory Garden Initiative (VGI) and Bay View Neighborhood Association (BVNA). The Home Depot Foundation provided a $5,000 grant and BVNA provided a $1,000 grant. BVNA, VGI, and other volunteers planned the gardens over the past six months. In all, 110 raised beds were to be built. A gazebo is planned for the center.
Swee Sim, of Bay View’s Future Green, provided this solar generator to power most of the power tools.
Cabbage in the Bay View Hide House Community Gardens.
Garden organizer Jason Haas’ daughter Hari holds “Squirmy” the earthworm up to the camera. Later that day, Hari also discovered a garter snake.
More info: bvhhgarden.wordpress.com
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Compass coverage of the community’s quick collaboration « Bay View Hide House Community Garden on Wed, 2nd Jun 2010 10:16 pm
[...] You can find it over here. [...]
Compass coverage of the community’s quick collaboration « Haas414 on Wed, 2nd Jun 2010 10:18 pm
[...] You can find it over here. [...]
quickgardens on Wed, 2nd Jun 2010 10:44 pm
What a fantastic event. I look forward to seeing something like that in Orlando, Fl.
Ear Infection Treatment %0A on Thu, 18th Nov 2010 3:01 am
power tools can really save you from a lot of headache, specially when the job is very hard `;,