Building Community

Friday I had an interesting meeting with the founder of the E J Autism Foundation, an organization that strives to create autism awareness on Long Island and raises money to support programs that work with children on the autism spectrum.

One of the goals of the organization is to plan and create a community garden for the purpose of bringing together members of the community and welcoming children with disabilities and their families. Although still in the very early planning stages, the project already has the support of the Town of Islip and East Islip schools.

Digging out a garden seems simple enough, however, there are many questions to consider when planning a community garden including:
Where should it be located?
How big should it be?
Is it protected?
Is there access to water?
Should it be set up as a CSA or would individual plots be more appropriate?
Who will work at the garden?
Who will manage it?
What should be grown and who will receive the produce?
What will the start up costs be?

It is important to lay a solid foundation before planting the first seeds. After my initial meeting, it is my belief that this community garden will have the support needed to succeed. The founder has a sensible approach and has established a realistic time frame. It will be exciting to see how this garden develops and I am looking forward to providing some insight. More to come...