Community Garden Rot

Many people that I talk to about what should be done with all the vacant lots in Buffalo have the same answer: Community Gardens. While this is a fine answer for some lots, this is not a solution for the entire city. There are over 7000 city owned vacant lots. They cannot all be gardens. Further more who would take care of all these gardens? They take a lot of constant work, and with fewer residents in these neighborhoods could they really be up kept? Many times over the summer I photographed several community gardens which had been abandoned. I do not know the stories behind each garden's failure, but I assume some of the hardship mentioned above. The one story I did hear involved college students coming in to create a garden, but they did not invite residences to participate in its creation. Since they did not engage the community it had no ownership of the garden.

Not all community Gardens are failures, many thrive. So what makes for a successful garden? 

1. Get the community involved from day one. This may seem like a no brainer, but sometimes outside groups pick a vacant lot and decide that there should be a community garden there without asking anyone living around it. 

2. Read Grassroots Gardens 10 Steps to Starting a Community Garden Here.

3. Have long term support available to care for the garden when the community members cannot. PUSH has some of the best gardens in the city because they find volunteers to take care of them, they are always finding new ways to keep the community engaged. 

4. Partner with a school. Pelion Garden (pictured below) is a fantastic garden because City Honors has made tending this plot a part of their curriculum. Also this garden is close to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, and they are invested in making this neighborhood better through donations of money and time. 

Still want to start a community garden on a vacant lot in your neighborhood? Check out these non-profits for help :

Groundwork Buffalo

Grassroots Gardens

Massachusetts Avenue Project

PUSH (People United for Sustainable Housing)