Middletown, NY (OCLT): When we think of land preservation and land conservation, a vacant city lot is probably not the first thing to come to mind. Yet, protecting urban land and creating green spaces in our cities can be as important as protecting our rural landscapes, important waterways and working farmland.
Three community gardens are open or set to open soon, on vacant city lands in each of Orange County’s three cities-Newburgh, Port Jervis and Middletown- thanks to an effort led by the Orange County Land Trust. La Vida Garden at 59 Chambers Street in Newburgh opened last week and will be coordinated by the newly-formed Urban Farmers League, a youth-run organization that will sell fresh produce as well as hold art and cultural events at the garden. The lot is owned by the City of Newburgh. Boy Scout Troop #300 built raised beds last weekend at Middletown’s community garden, located at Middletown Housing Authority’s David Moore Heights housing development. The Port Jervis garden will be located on a city-owned parcel at the intersection of North Street and East Main Street. Support for the Port Jervis community garden has come from three local churches, with more volunteers from the community needed if the garden is to be available for planting this year.
The idea for creating community gardens began after Jim Delaune, Orange County Land Trust’s Executive Director, read an article in the Times Herald Record in 2008 about a young Newburgh man who had permission to begin a garden on a vacant city lot owned by Mount Saint Mary College. Jim and Dave Church, Orange County’s Commissioner of Planning, had previously talked about the need to improve urban parks and provide more urban green space for city residents. Jim immediately realized the connection between urban green space, fresh healthy local foods, conservation and the revitalization of our cities – all in community gardening. He saw community gardens as an opportunity to reach out to a group of county residents that the Land Trust, with its focus on protecting the county’s farms and larger tracts of natural lands, had largely ignored. Here were urban dwellers with an interest in farming, conservation and healthy, home grown foods. Lloyd “Decora” Sandiford, the coordinator of “The People’s Garden” in Newburgh, had 16 families that first year, growing and harvesting their own vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers. At Jim’s request, the Land Trust Board of Directors agreed to make a donation of $400 to The People’s Garden for the purchase of tools, a shed and other supplies to help these urban farmers. Jim then set about with the idea to establish community gardens in the two other cities in Orange County, as well as make additional improvements to The People’s Garden.
Community gardens are sprouting up in cities both large and small throughout the United States. These gardens not only beautify and make lush and productive vacant urban lands, but also provide food- healthy, low cost food- for low to moderate income people and families. Community gardens bring neighbors together, provide much needed urban green space, and can engage city residents in land conservation and land stewardship. In effect, community gardens can help revitalize cities, and the locally grown foods conserve fuel costs associated with trucking fresh produce across the country.
With this idea to bring urban community gardening to Port Jervis and Middletown, and make improvements to the garden in Newburgh, the Land Trust first approached the Land Trust Alliance, the national association for land trusts across the country. In 2009, a Conservation Partnership Program grant in the amount of $19,500 was awarded to the Orange County Land Trust jointly by the LTA and NYS Department of Environmental Protection. With this initial funding in place, Jim and Karin Roux, the Land Trust’s Director of Conservation and Stewardship, approached several organizations and agencies in Orange County to partner with the Land Trust in building and expanding community gardens in our cities. From this effort, the Land Trust has raised $81,000 in grants and contributions, and has received several thousand dollars worth of organic seeds, as well as countless hours of volunteer work. Our funding partners in our urban community gardens project are:
| Healthy Orange, a project of OC Dept of Health |
$30,000 |
| Land Trust Alliance and NYS DEC |
$19,500 |
| Port Jervis Community Development Agency |
$15,000 |
| Middletown Industrial Development Agency |
$10,000 |
| OC Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board |
$6,500 |
Other supporting partners include:
- City of Newburgh
- Port Jervis Department of Public Works
- Urban Farmers League
- Cornell Cooperative Extension, Master Gardeners
- Middletown Housing Authority
- Grace Episcopal Church, First Presbyterian Church and St. Peter Lutheran Church, all of Port Jervis
“La Vida Garden” in Newburgh, coordinated by the newly formed Urban Farmers League, is the first community garden to open this year. The Urban Farmers League petitioned the mayor and city council to allow them to use the lot at 59 Chambers Street for gardening, and was granted permission in April. The Land Trust is looking forward to the opening of the two other community gardens this summer in Middletown and Port Jervis. In all, over 125 raised bed garden plots in these three cities will be made available to gardeners.
The Orange County Land Trust is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the fields, forests, wetlands, ridgelines, and river corridors in and around Orange County through voluntary land conservation for the benefit of people. The Trust owns and manages nine nature preserves that are free and open to the public every day for passive recreation such as hiking, birding and nature study. The Land Trust partners with other conservation groups as well as community and government organizations, including Orange County’s Open Space Program, to help preserve Orange County’s natural and agricultural heritage. To date, the Land Trust has preserved almost 3,500 acres of land in nearly every community in the county. For more information and for volunteer opportunities, ways of giving, and upcoming events, visit the website at www.oclt.org or call (845) 343-0840. To volunteer to help with the Port Jervis community garden, contact Karin Roux at (845) 343-0840, x16.
