No one should be left floundering because they don’t have the tools to plant a garden, know what the protocol is on gardening on city-owned property, have any idea which fruit trees would survive in our urban environment, or know how to effectively teach kids to enjoy chard!
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There is so much energy in the city focused on greening the way we live, eating locally, replacing asphalt with green spaces, and, most importantly, sharing our knowledge and ideas. From the Mayor’s Cleaner Greener Baltimore initiative, which includes a city-wide sustainability plan, to the Urban Agriculture Task Force that is trying to set up an urban farm, to the proposed Hamilton Elementary / Middle School’s new vegetable garden, people of all ages and socioeconomic status are ready to join forces and get their hands in the soil. So many initiatives, so much knowledge and drive: wouldn’t it be helpful and, frankly, necessary, to create a framework so we can share information and material resources?
No one should be left floundering because they don’t have the tools to plant a garden, know what the protocol is on gardening on city-owned property, have any idea which fruit trees would survive in our urban environment, or know how to effectively teach kids to enjoy chard! The more efficiently and effectively we can create a network to allow for smooth transfer of information, shovels, trowels, and plants, the easier it will be to accomplish our goals, grow healthy food, and green our city.
Like many other post-industrial cities, Baltimore’s population is significantly lower than it was 40 years ago. The flight of residents from the city has left an abundance of vacant homes that become vacant land as homes are razed. The vast majority of Baltimore’s vacant properties is concentrated in neighborhoods with high poverty rates, weak housing markets, and severely depressed physical, social, and economic conditions. Vacant lots and other open spaces in any neighborhood can become agents of blight, further depressing property values as they become “dust bowls” and a subsequent environmental hazard to residents. However, these same open lots are a potential resource for everybody: studies show the significant role that green spaces, particularly in the form of urban agriculture and urban gardening, can play in community renewal.
In 2003, The Parks & People Foundation hosted a city-wide Greening Baltimore Workshop as an opportunity for urban greeners to share knowledge and express their needs and concerns as managers of community green spaces. Participants consistently expressed the need for training opportunities (e.g. on gardening and food production practices, community organizing, green space planning and design, and fund-raising) and material resources (e.g. compost, mulch, plant material, and tools). While various programs exist to support community greening, a coordinated, city-wide effort that offers equitable access to information and material resources and reaches even Baltimore’s most resource-limited communities, ultimately allowing urban greening to be a community-strengthening solution, has until now not existed.
But here we go! The Community Greening Resource Network (CGRN, pronounced “See Green”) is a new collaborative network addressing the ongoing self-identified needs of green space stewards in Baltimore City. CGRN was formed just this year through an initial partnership between the Parks & People Foundation’s Assistant Director of Community Greening Stewardship, Kari Smith, and Maryland Cooperative Extension’s Food Stamp Nutrition Education Project Leader, Chrissa Carlson. CGRN was primarily modeled after Detroit’s Garden Resource Program Collaborative, which has been extremely successful in supporting and encouraging community gardening.
In August, I became the CGRN Coordinator, a position sponsored by Americorps VISTA, to set up the network. As a network, CGRN is bringing together government agencies such as Baltimore City Hall, the Office of Neighborhoods, and the Office of Sustainability, other non-profit greening organizations like Baltimore Green Space (a land trust to protect Baltimore’s green spaces), Community Greens (an alley gating and greening program), and Jones Falls and Herring Run Watershed Associations, and other entities that work hard to promote greening and outdoor education like Irvine Nature Center, City Blossoms, and Reservoir Hill Improvement Council.
By partnering with area organizations that have indoor and outdoor space and tool sheds, and are already involved in greening their communities, CGRN Sites will serve as hubs for greening information and materials. This first year, four CGRN Sites are being established at Reservoir Hill Improvement Council, Herring Run Watershed Association’s new Watershed Center, People’s Homesteading Group, and the Amazing Grace Church in Southeast Baltimore. These four locations serve a diversity of neighborhoods and are located in different sections of the city. Each CGRN Site with host a Community Tool Bank with hand tools, four annual seed and plant give-away days, and workshops taught by gardeners and greening organizations.
One of the most important outputs of the network is the quarterly See Green Newsletter, which will contain informative articles, spotlights on various gardens to share successes and challenges, and a shared calendar of events. Workshops already scheduled by area organizations will be posted on the calendar, reaching people who might not have received notice of these events. New workshops can be coordinated, on topics that have yet to be covered, like bee-keeping. There are plenty of folks keeping bees and plenty who want to learn how!
In addition, CGRN will facilitate networking opportunities through city-wide evaluation meetings, garden tours, and get-togethers. As a network, everyone involved in gardening is an important and indispensable resource and has the opportunity to be an active force in making CGRN a useful and productive tool.
There are two options for CGRN membership. Applications are accepted year-round and are valid for one calendar year. Community-managed green spaces like community gardens, school gardens, and neighborhood memorial gardens in Baltimore City can apply for Garden Membership. The $10 cost-sharing fee covers the materials distributed through the tool banks, give-away days, and mailings. Individual Membership is for individuals, whether they are gardening or not, who do not live in the city; and for folks in the city who are not involved in a community garden but are interested in gardening and greening. The yearly $5 fee provides these individuals access to CGRN’s newsletter, calendar, and networking opportunities.
CGRN will ensure that individuals and families involved in greening their neighborhoods can connect to opportunities that help them succeed. When resources are available, more citizens can easily become involved in greening and gardening, directly contributing to the revitalization of their neighborhoods. More information about CGRN, including membership forms, is available online at www.parksandpeople.org, or by calling the Parks & People Foundation at 410-448-5663 x114.
