Green Acres

by Amy L. Webb

Philadelphia may be home to hundreds of blighted lots, but some neighborhood associations are transforming that vacant land into vibrant community gardens.

"People work for years on these gardens, which provide nutritious food and a safe environment for neighborhoods, and naturally someone wants to take the land over and put a house there," says Margot Berg, associate director of the Philadelphia-based Neighborhood Gardens Association (NGA), a nonprofit land trust. "It is our mission to help community gardeners keep their land."

The city's Horticulture Society estimates there are hundreds of neighborhood gardens where residents have taken a one- or two-lot vacant area, cleaned debris, tilled soil and planted vegetables and flowers. Often, that land either belongs to tax delinquents who left the state or it has been claimed by the city as blight. That was the case at 1801 E. Glenwood Ave., the site of a dilapidated warehouse. Jimmie Taylor, a North Philly resident, started cleaning the space in 1983 and planted string beans, kale and collard greens. Fifteen years later, the site holds 100 plots with more than 80 neighborhood gardeners.

"You just can't imagine how there could be so many vegetables and flowers growing in North Philadelphia," Berg says. Glenwood Green Acres "now spans four acres, has a pavilion, lights and a barbecue area."

In 1997, Glenwood Green Acres was in danger of being taken over by developers. Gardeners asked NGA for help. "We helped make this garden a permanent community space by helping to purchase the land and title, pay liability insurance and complete the paperwork," Berg says.

The NGA accepts inquires from gardens with histories of ample community support. Grants are used to fund all projects but the typical cost to purchase land varies greatly depending on the neighborhood. Philadelphia now has 24 permanent community gardens in Northern Liberties, Kensington, Spring Garden, Fairmount, Point Breeze, Germantown and North, West and South Philadelphia preserved by NGA. All had been established and successfully managed by residents for at least three years.

"These gardens empower people," Berg says. "It takes an enormous amount of time and physical labor to start and maintain a garden, and, when they are successful, that's incredibly empowering for the people who worked there. Once that happens, people move on to tackle other problems in their neighborhoods. It's a revitalization tool."

For more information or to apply for NGA assistance, see: www.ngalandtrust.org or call 215-988-8797.

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