Construction started last Saturday on the new Clarendon Hills community garden on the corner of Powderhouse Boulevard and North Street. The project was approved in January by the Somerville Housing Authority (SHA), which owns and operates the housing development. Various members of the community of all age groups were on site helping out with construction. |
The Clarendon Hill Community Garden Committee (CHCGC) headed by Jocelyn Scott worked for 18 months to make this project a reality.
Scott, a longtime resident of the complex said that "the project originated with the intention of bringing this multilingual community which includes a variety of people from different backgrounds together around the garden."
Scott took the initiative after a series of community meetings where it became clear that a majority of the community was in favor of the plan. The CHCGC began by reaching out to tenants about the project and gathered over 100 signatures on a document of support which outlined the goals of the committee.
The committee undertook a vast outreach project that included the posting of flyers in English, Portuguese, Spanish and Creole. The committee held meetings regularly to plan and outline the scope of the project and the resources necessary for its implementation.
Joe Macaluso, the Executive Director of the Somerville Housing Authority, allowed the committee to build a community garden and helped to provide water and a maintenance stipend of $250. The location of the garden will be at the corner of Powderhouse Boulevard and North Street.
After receiving the Housing Authority's approval, the committee reached out to Groundworks Sommerville, a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable community development and revitalization. Tai Dinnan, a Groundworks Sommerville consultant helped with the process of applying for grants as well as the physical implementation of the project.
The project is funded primarily by a grant from the New England Grassroots Environment Fund and is receiving logistical support and maintenance funding from the Somerville Housing Authority, a state-run agency.
The idea of the garden was generally well received in the community.
Scott was pleased with the outcome: "We wanted to build a garden so that people could grow their own vegetables and involve the children.
This was an effort to allow people to save money, eat better, interact with the community and establish some leadership among us."
A few residents raised concerns that the site of the garden was not chosen in a transparent manner. Resident Helen Mahoney stated that "this is the area where we have summer activities for young children, this is where we could watch them play sports safely" she added that the parks in the area were unsafe because they were "infested with fleas and needles." The Housing Authority does not allow children to play in the area where the community garden is being built.
Additionally, Mahoney claimed that the people signing the petition were not informed of the location prior to the project's approval and that its proximity to her unit may attract rats. The garden's location was decided in January by the Housing Authority due to a recommendation of the CHCGC which holds open meetings.
The land for the garden will be divided into 14 parcels of which 10 have already been allocated. Theoretically, several parcels will be divided into sections, allowing more members of the community to plant. Though only a few members of the community will be able to directly benefit from the garden, resident Cliff Pitts believes it's a step toward more interaction and cooperation between tenants.
Scott was optimistic about the future, she stated that "there is absolutely nothing negative about the concept of a community garden."
Though the idea of allowing tenants to maintain a garden seems to be fairly uncontroversial, she added that "We knew we would have some opposition but we didn't expect to deal with it today."
Scott, a longtime resident of the complex said that "the project originated with the intention of bringing this multilingual community which includes a variety of people from different backgrounds together around the garden."
Scott took the initiative after a series of community meetings where it became clear that a majority of the community was in favor of the plan. The CHCGC began by reaching out to tenants about the project and gathered over 100 signatures on a document of support which outlined the goals of the committee.
The committee undertook a vast outreach project that included the posting of flyers in English, Portuguese, Spanish and Creole. The committee held meetings regularly to plan and outline the scope of the project and the resources necessary for its implementation.
Joe Macaluso, the Executive Director of the Somerville Housing Authority, allowed the committee to build a community garden and helped to provide water and a maintenance stipend of $250. The location of the garden will be at the corner of Powderhouse Boulevard and North Street.
After receiving the Housing Authority's approval, the committee reached out to Groundworks Sommerville, a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable community development and revitalization. Tai Dinnan, a Groundworks Sommerville consultant helped with the process of applying for grants as well as the physical implementation of the project.
The project is funded primarily by a grant from the New England Grassroots Environment Fund and is receiving logistical support and maintenance funding from the Somerville Housing Authority, a state-run agency.
The idea of the garden was generally well received in the community.
Scott was pleased with the outcome: "We wanted to build a garden so that people could grow their own vegetables and involve the children.
This was an effort to allow people to save money, eat better, interact with the community and establish some leadership among us."
A few residents raised concerns that the site of the garden was not chosen in a transparent manner. Resident Helen Mahoney stated that "this is the area where we have summer activities for young children, this is where we could watch them play sports safely" she added that the parks in the area were unsafe because they were "infested with fleas and needles." The Housing Authority does not allow children to play in the area where the community garden is being built.
Additionally, Mahoney claimed that the people signing the petition were not informed of the location prior to the project's approval and that its proximity to her unit may attract rats. The garden's location was decided in January by the Housing Authority due to a recommendation of the CHCGC which holds open meetings.
The land for the garden will be divided into 14 parcels of which 10 have already been allocated. Theoretically, several parcels will be divided into sections, allowing more members of the community to plant. Though only a few members of the community will be able to directly benefit from the garden, resident Cliff Pitts believes it's a step toward more interaction and cooperation between tenants.
Scott was optimistic about the future, she stated that "there is absolutely nothing negative about the concept of a community garden."
Though the idea of allowing tenants to maintain a garden seems to be fairly uncontroversial, she added that "We knew we would have some opposition but we didn't expect to deal with it today."
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