{ All photos in this post courtesy of Grow it Green Morristown}
There is nothing like getting your hands dirty to bring a community together. In Morristown, New Jersey three women decided to do just that. Grow it Green Morristown is a non-profit organization that works to bring its community together through environmentally aware capitol improvement projects, education and outreach, and legislative advocacy. The group started with a community garden in a diverse neighborhood, and most recently started the Urban Farm at Lafayette, where the district’s 4,700 children can learn the wonders and rewards of gardening. In addition to the teaching aspect, the food produced at the farm goes to feed the school children who grow it, and local food banks.
Imagine Childhood was fortunate enough come into contact with this wonderful group and help in their efforts by donating some of our Children’s Gardening Tools to help get those little hands dirty.
As we are about to enjoy much of this season's harvest in celebrations this week, it seemed like the perfect time to take a look at the innerworkings of such an amazing project. Here is co-founder Samantha Rothman, to answer a few questions:
How/where did the idea for GIGM come from?
Essentially, when we started out, we were just three ladies who wanted to open a community garden. As we started planning that endeavor, it become apparent that we needed to form some type of legal entity so we could get insurance on the piece of property where the garden was going to be (because the garden is located on private land). Plus, we needed to raise funds, solicit businesses for their help, etc. Forming a 501 c3 was really the only way to facilitate creating the garden; thus Grow it Green Morristown was born. The Urban Farm at Lafayette is a derivation of an idea that I had originally – create a farm that gives away food to needy people through a CSA-type arrangement but where paying people “pay” for others too – but as we (myself and my two partners, Carolle Huber and Myra Bowie McCready) talked about the concept and found the land (that is owned by the school district) the project changed and grew into something even better than what the original, back of the napkin idea was.
How is it going now?
“UF” as we call it internally, has literally taken off. It has amazed us how ready our community has been for this. In particular, the networking and connections between the other non-profits in the area that are working on issues related to poverty, nutrition and hunger. The farm itself has also flourished – we have donated over 2,000 lbs of produce to our local food pantry, as well as held on farm sales. Our farm stand is unique in that people come and we walk them around the garden so they can see their food “on the vine.” Most people who come to our farm have never pulled their own carrots, or seen okra grow, etc. so just buying food is an educational experience. We also keep our prices really low so that everyone can afford our food. If you can’t afford it, you can also get it at the food pantry!
What activities do the children participate in/how involved are they in the process?
We have had children participate in a wide variety of activities – from helping with getting the soil ready, planting and harvesting to adding compost, painting benches, etc. Mostly the children come for classes – for instance last spring we had 120 kindergarteners plant pumpkins, then all those kids came back this year as first graders to harvest their pumpkins for projects their science teacher did with them on “pumpkin day.” Or simple projects for little children, like giving each child a card with a color written on it and then they go into the garden to find a vegetable of that color.
What kinds of veggies are being grown?
We grew so many things this year –we try to be as biodiverse as possible to help manage pest/ disease issues but primarily to offer children the chance to see as many things growing as possible. Here are some of the things we grew: kale (3 kinds), collards, swiss chard, 2 kinds of eggplant, many kinds of peppers, many kinds of tomatoes, carrots, spinach, a variety of Asian greens, different kinds of green beans, cilantro, basil, radishes, lots of lettuces, kohlrabi, turnips, beets, celery, broccoli, pumpkins, summer & winter squashes, corn, asparagus, leeks, onions, dill, fennel, amaranth, dikon radishes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, artichokes, sunflowers, watermelons, cantaloupes and I’m sure I’m forgetting other things!
Has the kids involvement with the garden changed their eating habits?
I have a 4-year-old son and I have to say, that I was totally disappointed that growing food together didn’t make him a super vegetable eater. But on the flip side, when we go to the Urban Farm together he immediately goes over to the basil and just starts eating leaves. So it is kind of funny the things that children will gravitate toward. We have had a number of parents comment on how their children will eat things they picked at the Farm that they wouldn’t eat if it was just brought home from the store. I think, particularly for small kids, there is a strong desire to do things themselves. When you tie that to eating – which is one of the only things they have control over in their lives (to eat or not to eat) – giving them the choice of picking something on their own and choosing to eat it (vs. just serving it to them) is very powerful.
What's the most important thing you have learned/would like to pass on to others?
When we started this, all the nay-sayers came out of the woodwork to tell us the pit-falls or stories of people who had tried in the past to do something unique or community oriented and why it failed. Some people might say they were trying to help or offer advice. We didn’t pay attention to them or give them the opportunity to rain on our parade. If you feel the passion and you feel that it is right, just go for it. Why bother injecting the possibility of failure when you feel so good about it? While this project has been an act of building community, building community doesn’t mean that you need to build group consensus first. Sometimes the process of getting everyone on board first takes so long that you just end up talking and talking and never getting anywhere. Better just to roll up your sleeves and get to work!
Any anecdotes to pass along from your experience?
The other day we had a group of children with severe developmental disabilities come to the garden to harvest pumpkins. One of the children said “pumpkin” and everyone was shocked. This was from a child who was barely verbal and when she did speak, it was never contextually appropriate so this was the first time any of the teachers had ever heard her say the right thing at the right time, let along a “big word” like pumpkin. You can’t place a value on that type of milestone for a child. So while funders at times want to know statistics, like how many visitors per year, volunteer hours contributed, pounds of food donated, etc. have we “achieved” – I think for the parents of that girl who said “pumpkin” we did more in one minute for a person than you can measure.
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us Samantha! Grow it Green Morristown is a beautiful thing indeed!
~Jordan
*Last time in Nature: Harvest Time
