Urban Farming & Community Gardening

Community gardens are urban green spaces, alive with plants for eating, trees for climbing, and flowers and herbs to beautify blocks and attract butterflies. These gardens serve as more than that though, growing human relationships, fostering learning opportunities, and providing safe spaces in a wide variety of neighborhoods. Created and cared for by city residents, community gardeners dedicate their time to beautify and make productive space that was formerly underutilized. Community garden stewards are volunteers, parents and teachers, young people and elders, school groups, and community organizations. The backgrounds of community gardeners reflect the diversity of New York City. Individual gardeners come together to improve their communities.

Urban Farms are generally larger sites that focus on food production. An urban farm may function very similarly to a community garden, or it may focus on growing food for market or donation to a local food pantry. Seven Bronx community gardens and urban farms contribute to community-run farmers markets.

School gardens are special resources for hands-on learning and for building community within schools. School gardens range in size from a small raised vegetable bed or perennial border to larger garden sites that may contain multiple raised vegetable beds, a compost area, butterfly garden, rainwater harvesting system, or fruit trees. Some schools that lack green space on their campus forge relationships with community gardens in their neighborhood. Classes might adopt a garden bed or area of the garden to nurture. Schools can utilize the green spaces in their community for hands-on learning; outdoor activities that promote health, wellness, and access to nature; or community service opportunities.