December 26, 2011 by gardenanne
Painted by Mica (SSCG member)
Hello Gardeners…
Well, things are looking up and forward…
Looking up…
Several members, old and new are growing greens throughout the winter, using cloth and reused windows as insulation.
We have one more spring/summer growing season in our current location and are always accepting new members dedicated to organic urban growing… To these prospective members… don’t be dissuaded by our current appearance, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center has been doing construction on their building adjacent to the garden as well as cleaning out the mud filled drain on the property… all in all, a good thing, however unsightly. When their crew cleans up, so will we…
Looking forward…
Sloan St Community Garden with the help of Preston’s Paradise and the PEC have made a plan to use our remaining SCI West grant funds to create self-containing beds to put atop the concrete on the Penn Presbyterian’s side of the property in preparation for our eviction of 326 N. Sloan on Nov. 15th, 2012 (zoning hearing regarding the development of the land Jan 4th, 2012 @ 5pm). If you or anyone you know is interested in helping design or build these beds, please contact us via: sloanstcommunitygarden@gmail.com
We met with Amy Laura Cahn (acahn@pilcop.org) from Garden Justice Legal Initiative to seek advice as we move forward. In our discussion, she gathered much of our history and our needs as she is doing with threatened community gardens across Philadelphia in hopes to affect policy to sustain community created green spaces that produce food, comfort and security to low-income neighborhoods. She suggested we contact churches and other neighborhood organizations to see if we can branch out into “productive landscaping” as an alternative to searching for the seemingly unattainable (another space w/in the neighborhood that is not slated for development.) If you know of any space or organization that would be willing to partner with us, allowing us to beautify as well as grow food for the neighborhood through productive landscaping, again, contact us via sloanstcommunitygarden@gmail.com
Looking around…
It is important to note that SSCG has grown and donated over 700lbs of food to those in need in the neighborhood. We are not a tiny self-serving club but a community created and sustaining organization striving to beautify and strengthen our Saunders Park neighborhood through urban organic growing. As we look around at the fast-disappearing green spaces in our community, we must remember that development (especially in the form of bulldozers, concrete and tar) is not progress… and we must fight to keep our neighborhood green & healthy. Organizations to support in these efforts: FORC and Garden Justice Legal Initiative. “THE LANDSCAPE OF GARDENING AND SECURING LAND IN PHILADELPHIA IS CHANGING. A STRONG GRASSROOTS GARDENER NETWORK CAN INFLUENCE HOW THAT HAPPENS.”
