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Community Garden--Takalay Hamill


What is a community garden? A community garden is a small piece of land that is shared by individuals, groups, or in any public area. “The land may produce fruit, vegetables, and/or ornamentals.” There are different types of community gardens as well: neighborhood, residential, institutional, and demonstration. Neighborhood gardens consist of a piece of land that is owned by a group, in which each individual may own a single plot if they pay a yearly fee for maintenance. Residential gardens are much like neighborhood gardens, however they are owned by a single unit like an apartment complex for example. These are purely communal to the public within that particular residential community. Institutional gardens are connected to public or private organizations, “These gardens offer a number of beneficial services for residents, ranging from mental or physical rehabilitation and therapy to teaching a set of skills for job placement.” Finally demonstration gardens are used in educational settings like schools and elderly housing to inform the community of the benefits and importance of gardens.
Community gardens come with many benefits to it’s surrounding population. Heidi Goodman, the executive director at Harvard Health Letter states that, “Backyard gardening can inspire you to take an interest in the origins of your food and make better choices about what you put on your plate…” If a CalArts garden was to take shape, the students/faculty that were involved would be able to enjoy healthy vegetables, and fruits without the risk of fertilizers and added pesticides. Another plus that is often overlooked is the immense potential for compost. Every large garden has compost bins to make natural fertilizer for the plants, and in this case it would be a perfect way for CalArts to reduce its carbon footprint, and trash waste. 
Sources:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/backyard-gardening-grow-your-own-food-improve-your-health-201206294984

http://marinmg.ucanr.edu/Great_Gardening_Information/Marin_Community_Gardens/

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