Gardens, gardens, everywhere...at least in Berkeley.

When I initially decided to start this blog, sharing what I learned about community gardens and locally grown food was going to be it's main reason for being.  As I stumbled into one interesting sustainability/planning topic after another, I realized that a focus that narrow wasn't going to work for me.  I am, however, still interested in the subject, and I decided to start with a closer look at community gardens in Berkeley.

Wow.  There are alot of community gardens in Berkeley!  I guess I shouldn't be surprised, it is the culture of Berkeley that first brought me greater awareness about the local food movement and its impact on the health of both the consumer and the community.  These impacts are especially great when choosing organic or pesticide free sources, and buying locally grown food cuts down on energy and emissions required to bring produce to your local grocer.  Growing your own food goes even further, by allowing people to connect directly with what they consume, and reinforcing community relationships with a cooperative effort.

Not everyone can, or wants, to grow their own food.  For some the limitation is time, space, or both.  I personally fall somewhere in the middle of the above groups, but it is likely that I would have started something small by now if my neighborhood wasn't so full of deer.  Because of my adorable but hungry neighbors, I would have to construct a considerable barrier to keep them away from my edibles.  I love the deer.  But they would love my tomatoes.  It also takes considerable effort to get a garden setup, figure out what works and what doesn't, and to manage the fruits of your labor in an efficient way.

Enter the role of Community Gardens.  They allow the average person to overcome the problems of space and infrastructure and get involved with what they eat with a reduced time commitment.  There are even groups like the Berkeley Community Gardening Collaborative  that help organize those gardens and train the community on the methods and benefits involved.  BCGC is really a great resource (as is the Ecolcogy Center that manages it).

From the BCGC website, or this one as well, one can find a local garden near them: at least 10 general gardens plus 10-12 others for special purposes or located at schools.  One can also learn about local farmer's markets and training and volunteer opportunities.   Some gardens allow you to spend a little time and/or money and share a portion of what grows, be it food, flowers, herbs, etc.  Some, like the Karl Linn Community Garden (picture, left),  also serve as a public gathering place.  Others, like Spiral Gardens (picture, above right),  donate a significant portion of the food grown to promote health in the community.  In this case they split the harvests between low-income seniors in the neighboring complex and the volunteers that make it happen.

Kind of makes you all green and fuzzy inside, doesn't it?