Community gardens have so many social, environmental, physical, and psychological benefits, yet they are unfortunately not being utilized to their maximum potential. It is very strange that they have not been included in many environmental plans for New York City; even cities like Detroit, which are suffering from financial turmoil and violence have implemented these gardens, turning barren wastelands and abandoned houses into vibrant, diverse mini-farms. In addition to being aesthetically appealing, these community gardens can increase biodiversity by attracting decomposers, can promote healthier eating habits, and can even employ people or at least involve many volunteers in designing, funding, building, and maintaining them.
The article mentioned how, if the right materials are used, they can mitigate runoff by absorbing a great deal of rainwater. They discussed 1.5” and 5” rainfall events; I’m interested in meteorology, and if I’m not mistaken, the last day that we had over 5” of rain in one day here in New York City was not too long ago, on August 14, 2011, and in fact that month was the wettest month ever recorded for our area. While the amount of rain that falls is important in doing these studies, I think that the rate at which it falls is also crucial. Thunderstorms are great examples of this, where we may get less than an inch of rain, but this amount falls torrentially in just a few minutes, and this is enough to severely back up sewer systems, flood basements, and inundate highways, causing absolute chaos. Community gardens can only absorb water so fast, so future studies should definitely analyze rainfall rates to determine how they can be optimally installed.
I think that the word “community” should be emphasized a lot more in the term community garden. I was surprised when the discussion section mentioned how the “New York Restoration Project is a privately managed land trust and all of their sites are maintained by staff members, not the community” (73). Although I mentioned job opportunities in the first paragraph of my post, I should emphasize that community gardens are long-term interactive projects for everybody to take part in, not private property. Education and participation are the first steps in conservation, and they make people feel obligated to protect their environment for themselves, future generations, and for the general well-being of ecosystems.
