Many community and school gardens face similar challenges and, even though each garden is unique, there is much that we can learn from each other regarding how we build solutions.
Resilience
Gardens are great teachers of resiliency–they demonstrate the capacity to adapt and respond to change and challenges. As garden leaders there are questions we can ask to address needs and challenges in a way that builds responsive, sustainable and resilient gardens and programs.
- Building Resilient Solutions
- Building Resilient Solutions webinar recording, New England Grassroots Environment Fund & Vermont Community Garden Network
Food Safety
Below are tips for reducing food safety risks related to gardening and garden grown produce. These tips are particularly important for gardens working with youth and seniors, and produce going to the school cafeteria, donated to a local food shelf, or sold to the public.
- Food Safety: School & Community Garden Handbook, North Carolina Cooperative Extension
- Donating Food Safely, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources & Department of Health
- School Sharing Tables Fact Sheet, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Health & Agency of Education
Personal Safety
Keep yourself and fellow gardeners safe by following basic rules, practicing tool safety, and reporting criminal activity.
- Safety in the Garden, P-Patch, Seattle, WA, 2014
- School Garden Safety Rules & Tips, Cat Buxton, Grow More Waste Less
Liability
How your garden will cover liability (in case of injury in the garden) will depend on who’s using your site, the activities that take place, and who owns the land.
- Cover liability by including a “hold harmless” waiver in your lease agreement (like this one on page 17 in Twin Cities Community Garden Start-up Guide). And then subsequently each gardener and volunteer should be required to sign a liability waiver prior to working on the site. This can be included in the general garden agreement (like this one from the Champlain Housing Trust) or as a separate liability waiver document (like this one from The Garden at 485 Elm).
- Discuss liability coverage with the landowner.
- You may be able to get coverage added to an existing policy, whether under the land owner’s policy or under another an affiliated entity’s policy (organization, town/city, church, business). Page 25 in From Neglected Parcels to Community Gardens: A Handbook (Wasatch Community Gardens) covers the basics on making decisions about liability insurance.
- You may be asked to purchase your own insurance. Brunswick Companies has been known to offer reasonable policies for community-based gardens.
Vandalism & Theft
Unfortunately, due to the public nature of these community-based spaces, vandalism and theft are familiar occurrences for many gardens. When addressing this issue avoid jumping to conclusions and pick solutions in keeping with the positive, welcoming nature of your garden community.
Conflict Resolution
Any time people share a space there will be interpersonal issues to address–be they positive or challenging. Starting with common agreements for use of and behavior in your garden will help to keep everyone on the same page. Visit “Get Organized” for some tips and samples for developing your own garden guidelines. If these agreements are broken there must be protocols in place to deal with infringements.
- Sample Conflict Resolution & Grievance Procedures, P-Patch, Seattle, WA
Land Preservation
Do you know the status of the property your garden is growing on? Is your landowner interested in keeping the land in gardens or do they have other plans in mind for its future? Is your garden protected from sudden changes? It pays to think ahead about land use preservation and setting up agreements that will protect your garden for the long-term and all of the hard work your community has contributed!
- If you’re in Vermont, reach out to Vermont Land Trust, for advice and possibilities for protecting your special property.
- Educate yourself about a variety of strategies for finding land for your community garden (Mayes, Wilson & Associates, LLC), developing agreements to grow food on public land (Change Lab Solutions), and establishing land use protections (National Policy & Legal Analysis Network, Public Health Law & Policy).
- For more details on determining ownership and making agreements go to pages 15-24 in From Neglected Parcels to Community Gardens: A Handbook (Wasatch Community Gardens).
- If you are building your community garden on someone else’s land here is a sample lease and land use agreement to get you started: Sample Garden Lease (Archibald Neighborhood Garden, Burlington, VT, 2007); Sample Land Use Agreement (American Community Gardening Association).
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