A visionary's quest: a city filled with gardens
| Boston
Orion Kriegman wants to fill Boston with hundreds of places where people grow food together.聽 And not just grow food, but reconnect with nature, while cultivating neighborhood friendships that knit together the city鈥檚 diverse cultures.
Can he do it?
So far Mr. Kriegman and an enthusiastic group of like-minded activists called the Boston Food Forest Coalition (BFFC) are moving forward with a half-dozen 鈥渇orest gardens.鈥澛� Each garden will host a panorama of food-producing plants, including trees and shrubs to mimic woodlands. The BFFC also aims to 鈥渞evive and conserve鈥� old, neglected city apple orchards.
鈥淭here is something about gardening that appeals across age ranges and ... across cultures,鈥� Kriegman says. 鈥淚t brings people together from a range of backgrounds.鈥�
The Massachusetts Audubon Society鈥檚 Boston Nature Center in the city鈥檚 Mattapan neighborhood hosts the BFFC鈥檚 flagship demonstration garden. Here, on a one-acre plot once part of a hospital complex site, volunteers plant fruits and vegetables, and mitigate the impact of damaged urban soil by mulching and creating raised vegetable beds.
No fences surround this BFFC forest garden. Kriegman wants the public to visit and enjoy these green places. And, in the spirit of sharing, thoughtfully sample their fruits.
鈥淥ne of the great things about the BFFC is their strong commitment to educational outreach,鈥� says Julie Brandlen, director of the Nature Center. The BFFC 鈥渞each[es] out to the community ... about permaculture,鈥� and about organic, sustainable practices.
Meanwhile, a half block from where Kriegman and his family live near Egleston Square, is the first fully realized BFFC neighborhood garden on a 4,000-square-foot parcel where a house burned down. It鈥檚 a funky and welcoming place, with plots of vegetables and recently planted trees sharing space with artwork. There also are grassy areas for Egleston鈥檚 diverse community of Hispanics, blacks, and whites to gather.
Ed Honeycut, who lives directly across the street from the Egleston Community Orchard (ECO), and who values the neighborhood connections he has made while volunteering, sees 鈥減eople stopping by all the time鈥� to enjoy a green space that for decades sprouted only junked TVs, auto parts, used hypodermic needles, and other trash.
The garden counterbalances nearby streets that are not always friendly. The Egleston area, shared by Boston鈥檚 Roxbury and Jamaica Plain neighborhoods, is 鈥渋n transition.鈥� Crime and deadly shootings are an issue, along with concerns that affordable housing is giving way to gentrification.
ECO has 鈥済one from an empty, uncared-for lot to a community space, accessible and inviting to everyone in the community,鈥� says Luis Cotto, executive director of Egleston Square Main Street, which works to support local businesses and improve living conditions in the Egleston area. 鈥淭he food forest [was] possible because of years of community building,鈥� Mr. Cotto says. 鈥淥rion took root in the community,鈥� Cotto adds, and included everyone in planning discussions.
Kriegman says there is no lack of interest from community organizations that want to work with BFFC to create gardens. And there are plenty of vacant parcels of land throughout Boston.
It鈥檚 funding that鈥檚 the issue. 鈥淸We need more] financial support so that we can truly support community-based groups," Kriegman says. "We have more opportunities than we can handle.鈥�
The BFFC is pursuing public and private grants, as well as more large and small contributions. With a $200,000 budget, Kriegman says, a small paid staff could support an expanding network of gardens tended by volunteers.
Kriegman works full-time, unpaid, as director of BFFC.聽 He and his wife, Hannah Thomas, are worried about what will happen later this year when she begins working fewer hours at her job after the birth of their second child.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a nonprofit business, but we need to get this financially sustainable 鈥� otherwise we won鈥檛 be here for the long term,鈥� Kriegman says.聽 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the stress that鈥檚 on my shoulders.鈥�
Kriegman, who holds a master鈥檚 degree in public policy and urban planning, has abundant organizational experience. For two years after college he worked in Guatemala with the Organization of American States.聽 Among his many activities aimed at reducing racial and income inequality, he worked for Tellus Institute, a liberal think tank, and co-founded Jamaica Plain New Economy Transition.
Along with partnerships with other community organizations, such as the Boston Nature Center, which supply land and resources to build and sustain gardens, Kriegman is working to advance more neighborhood sites like ECO, which would be sustained by government and foundation support.
鈥淓ach neighborhood site,鈥� he says, would have a 鈥渟tewardship council鈥� and 鈥渢he support of a wider circle of neighbors to help on clean-up days and organize harvest festivals, and other community activities.鈥澛� These sites would be included in the land trust the BFFC has created.
Two rapidly advancing partnerships are with Boston鈥檚 Old West Church and the Italian Home for Children in Jamaica Plain. 聽
Old West, a United Methodist Church in downtown Boston, is a historic brick edifice that鈥檚 more than 200 years old and surrounded by big buildings and traffic. BFFC and the church are creating a garden in the front of the churchyard. 聽
鈥淚 really hope it causes people to think, hopefully slow down, engage, and care for their neighbor,鈥� says Rev. Sara Garrard, pastor for Old West Church. She adds that BFFC is providing the church with 鈥渁 truly unique opportunity to transform our yard in order to feed people.鈥�
Meanwhile, the Italian Home for Children is partnering with the BFFC to expand its traditional agricultural model on its Jamaica Plain campus by adding food-forest plots. Italian Home, formerly an orphanage, now focuses on programs to help people of all ages with emotional and educational needs.
Plans are for the children, adults, and families it serves 鈥� and members of the nearby community 鈥� to tend the new gardens.
鈥淚f anyone can get BFFC off the ground and sustainable, it is Orion,鈥� says Allison Meierding in an emailed message. Ms. Meierding, a BFFC volunteer, adds 鈥淗e has the rare blend of gifts of being both organized and action-oriented, as well as someone with the imagination to craft a new vision that may not have existed before.鈥�
That vision, of a city filled with 鈥渇ood forests,鈥� is taking form in a gradually increasing number of gardens 鈥� and harvests of fresh fruits and vegetables.
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