When my friend Barbara told me that she runs a small community garden on a vacant lot in Elmhurst, Queens, I made her promise to show me around.  On a crisp Fall day, we did something better.  We planted over 100 daffodil bulbs and various other perennial plants.

Before we got to planting, I made some observations.  The community garden’s infrastructure looked very hand-made and was indicative of a collective, grassroots, community-based effort.  The planting beds were constructed by Barbara, a bench was donated and installed by the members of Young Governors, an Elmhurst-based youth organization, and signs were hand painted and propped up by the entrance of the garden.  Each planting bed has each owners’ crops of the season, and they made the parcel of otherwise undeveloped land appear much more attractive than it had been prior to the presence of the community members.

In 2013, Young Governors has donated over 600 fruits and vegetables to the New Life Community Development Food Pantry that were grown in the community garden.  The garden meant so many things for the community of Elmhurst.  The members had a place to gather and make friends, the greater community gained social benefits through the donation of fresh vegetables to the poor, and the neighborhood has a beautiful natural urban area in a densely populated residential area. 

In the summer of 2013, the owner of the vacant lot sold it to a developer who planned on building a 5-story house in the already housing-dense neighborhood.  The members along with Congresswoman Grace Meng are petitioning against this sale in hopes to come up with a mutually beneficial solution to this conundrum.
Why is this important? – Well, the benefits of a community garden are abundant.  Some positives are obvious such as community engagement, activism, and education, donating fresh produce to the poor, aesthetic value, and green space.  Some are not so obvious like the increased value of houses near green areas and the physical and mental health benefits for children and senior citizens who are able to be active outdoors while being able to remain close to home.  Community gardens need to be an integral part of neighborhood and urban planning from here on out as “urban conservationists” strive to be equitable as much as they are impactful in their work.