Community Garden to Bloom with Help from The Schenectady Foundation
Foundation Supports Capital District Community Gardens
A $20,000 grant from The Schenectady Foundation will help Capital District Community Gardens (CDCG) plant its magic in North Schenectady’s Goose Hill neighborhood.
The Goose Hill community garden will provide area residents with the opportunity to grow fresh, nutritious produce to share with family, friends and neighbors. The organic, homegrown fruits and vegetables will help lower food bills and improve nutrition. Community gardens have the added advantage of building neighborhood unity by bringing people together for a common purpose. The gardens, which offer a serene place to enjoy the outdoors, also bring color, texture, lush greenery and a host of positive activities to often bleak, urban landscapes.
There have been numerous requests to create a community garden from Goose Hill residents, including tenants of the Yates Public Housing Complex, which is home to some of the county’s poorest residents. The Schenectady Foundation grant will be used for site acquisition, site preparation and fencing, equipment and management.
The Goose Hill garden will provide as many as 40 families with an opportunity to grow more than $1,000 worth of fresh produce each growing season. For people living on fixed incomes or relying on Food Stamps or WIC, the value of a garden plot is significant.
“When individuals gain the power to feed their families by their own efforts, more than the body is nourished,” said CDCG Executive Director Amy Klein. “Community gardeners receive a large dose of self-confidence and self-esteem while simultaneously improving their family’s well-being. This can be a real boost to individuals struggling to make ends meet.”
The garden will be fenced to protect the site from theft, vandalism and pesky wildlife. A water source, tool storage shed, maintenance equipment and amenities such as a picnic table will be provided to allow gardeners to properly maintain the garden and help it flourish fully as a neighborhood asset. To ensure the success of its gardens, the CDCG provides free seeds, seedlings, rototilling, tools and equipment, information, staff support and free gardening, cooking and food preservation classes.
Creating a community garden in Goose Hill meets the Foundation’s commitment to community health and basic needs by offering opportunities for local residents to improve their health and well-being by growing their own fresh, nutritious produce while engaging in healthful recreational activity.
“The CDCG has been creating and managing cooperative neighborhood gardens for more than 30 years. In 2001, they took over the management of Schenectady’s six other community gardens with great results,” said Robert Carreau, administrator of the Foundation. “We are confident that this new community garden will reap meaningful – and bountiful -- benefits that will have an impact on the entire neighborhood.”
For more information, visit www.cdcg.org
Neighborhood resident Rookim Parmesar tends his plot at the Cutler Street Community Garden.
The Craig and Wylie Community Garden in bloom.