Community Gardens: An Example of Impact Volunteering
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Benjamin Paley
May 30, 2019
If you are anything like me, then spending time volunteering with your local government is a great way to utilize the skills you learned in your public administration classes. Local governments thrive on volunteers, which have been a hallmark of American society since the founding of this nation.
But volunteering with local organizations that have an impact on local government can also be a productive source of volunteering. In this column, I discuss community gardens as an ideal example of a concept called impact volunteering. Impact volunteering states that city leaders should take an active role in projects with members of their community.
Imagine a once prosperous shopping mall in its heyday. Filled with high-end and bargain priced department stores and kiosks, the shopping mall is an eclectic mix of members of the community. The shopping mall has something for everyone. As time progresses, the advent of the internet and the ease of online shopping forces most, if not all, of the stores in the shopping mall to close their doors. Soon, the shopping mall is empty, save for the building manager. Eventually, he is forced to close shop as well.
Due to the size of the facility, the building manager finds it difficult to find a buyer willing to own or lease such a massive piece of real estate. The empty facility and large lot become a scene of local crime and police presence. Property values in the surrounding area began to plummet, and soon many residents leave to find better housing elsewhere.
I provide the hypothetical above to set the scene for a project involving a partnership between local government leaders and citizens to improve upon out-of-date facilities and raise morale for the local community: community gardens. Community gardens are built by community members, who take dilapidated parcels of public land and turn them into something of aesthetic beauty and community building. According to an article in the Journal of Community Practice titled, “Community Gardening and Community Development: Individual, Social and Community Benefits of a Community Conservation Program,” by Mary L. Ohmer, Pamela Meadowcroft, Kate Freed and Ericka Lewis, community gardening is used for, “Providing open space and greenery, as well as cost-conscious fruits and vegetables for local communities.” In addition, “Historically, urban agriculture was used as a way to improve local food supplies, while contemporary community gardening often focuses on renovating vacant lots and turning them into green spaces that include fruit and vegetables, but also floral beds, sitting areas, and other amenities.”
What allows for the success of community gardens?
I argue that the success of community gardens is due to the success of implementing impact volunteering. According to Cities of Service, impact volunteering is defined as, “A strategy that engages citizen volunteers to identify and solve public problems alongside municipal governments. It is a participatory process in which citizens and city officials develop a shared vision, set short and long term goals for their community and then work together to achieve those goals. As partners, they communicate throughout the process and reflect on their work—discussing and evaluating what they have done and holding themselves accountable for results.”
Elements of successful impact volunteering include:
- That impact volunteering is city-led
- That impact volunteering targets public problems that are a priority for the city.
A perfect example of community gardening that follows the model of impact volunteering is The Highline in Manhattan. For the Highline, the New York City Parks Department website tells the story of how members of the local community worked with city officials to turn the former train line into a community park that both residents and visitors could enjoy. City administrators and leadership played a pivotal role in the transformation of the once abandoned railway line into a public space where vegetation and flora are given the room and care to grow—giving new life to a once dead parcel of land.
Locally, for me in Hollywood, Florida, a perfect example of community gardening initiated through the process of impact volunteering is the Highland Gardens Community Garden of Hollywood. As a reporter for the Hollywood Gazette, a local newspaper, I covered the development of an abandoned lot into a community garden led by local community leaders. Although there has been some pushback from government leaders (see this article for more information), overall, the City of Hollywood has taken on a prime leadership role in assisting with the Highland Gardens Community Garden of Hollywood.
Impact volunteering provides the foundation for a community garden that will instill in community members and government officials a sense of shared responsibility and action towards run-down land within government jurisdiction. Local volunteers, like the ones who helped grow and continue to maintain the Highline in Manhattan, showcase just how successful and beneficial a community garden can be.
Here are other examples of community garden projects to reclaim, “Underutilized infrastructure and reimagine it as public space:”
If there are areas within your home city that could use a local touch of green thumb, learn from the Highline and the Highland Gardens Community Garden, and encourage your government leaders to partner with you to improve your city’s overall image.
Author: Benjamin Paley is a member of the South Florida Chapter of the ASPA. He graduated in 2018 from Florida Atlantic University with a Master of Public Administration degree. He currently works at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach, Florida as their Social Justice Fellow. Email: [email protected].
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Community Gardens: An Example of Impact Volunteering
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Benjamin Paley
May 30, 2019
If you are anything like me, then spending time volunteering with your local government is a great way to utilize the skills you learned in your public administration classes. Local governments thrive on volunteers, which have been a hallmark of American society since the founding of this nation.
But volunteering with local organizations that have an impact on local government can also be a productive source of volunteering. In this column, I discuss community gardens as an ideal example of a concept called impact volunteering. Impact volunteering states that city leaders should take an active role in projects with members of their community.
Imagine a once prosperous shopping mall in its heyday. Filled with high-end and bargain priced department stores and kiosks, the shopping mall is an eclectic mix of members of the community. The shopping mall has something for everyone. As time progresses, the advent of the internet and the ease of online shopping forces most, if not all, of the stores in the shopping mall to close their doors. Soon, the shopping mall is empty, save for the building manager. Eventually, he is forced to close shop as well.
Due to the size of the facility, the building manager finds it difficult to find a buyer willing to own or lease such a massive piece of real estate. The empty facility and large lot become a scene of local crime and police presence. Property values in the surrounding area began to plummet, and soon many residents leave to find better housing elsewhere.
I provide the hypothetical above to set the scene for a project involving a partnership between local government leaders and citizens to improve upon out-of-date facilities and raise morale for the local community: community gardens. Community gardens are built by community members, who take dilapidated parcels of public land and turn them into something of aesthetic beauty and community building. According to an article in the Journal of Community Practice titled, “Community Gardening and Community Development: Individual, Social and Community Benefits of a Community Conservation Program,” by Mary L. Ohmer, Pamela Meadowcroft, Kate Freed and Ericka Lewis, community gardening is used for, “Providing open space and greenery, as well as cost-conscious fruits and vegetables for local communities.” In addition, “Historically, urban agriculture was used as a way to improve local food supplies, while contemporary community gardening often focuses on renovating vacant lots and turning them into green spaces that include fruit and vegetables, but also floral beds, sitting areas, and other amenities.”
What allows for the success of community gardens?
I argue that the success of community gardens is due to the success of implementing impact volunteering. According to Cities of Service, impact volunteering is defined as, “A strategy that engages citizen volunteers to identify and solve public problems alongside municipal governments. It is a participatory process in which citizens and city officials develop a shared vision, set short and long term goals for their community and then work together to achieve those goals. As partners, they communicate throughout the process and reflect on their work—discussing and evaluating what they have done and holding themselves accountable for results.”
Elements of successful impact volunteering include:
A perfect example of community gardening that follows the model of impact volunteering is The Highline in Manhattan. For the Highline, the New York City Parks Department website tells the story of how members of the local community worked with city officials to turn the former train line into a community park that both residents and visitors could enjoy. City administrators and leadership played a pivotal role in the transformation of the once abandoned railway line into a public space where vegetation and flora are given the room and care to grow—giving new life to a once dead parcel of land.
Locally, for me in Hollywood, Florida, a perfect example of community gardening initiated through the process of impact volunteering is the Highland Gardens Community Garden of Hollywood. As a reporter for the Hollywood Gazette, a local newspaper, I covered the development of an abandoned lot into a community garden led by local community leaders. Although there has been some pushback from government leaders (see this article for more information), overall, the City of Hollywood has taken on a prime leadership role in assisting with the Highland Gardens Community Garden of Hollywood.
Impact volunteering provides the foundation for a community garden that will instill in community members and government officials a sense of shared responsibility and action towards run-down land within government jurisdiction. Local volunteers, like the ones who helped grow and continue to maintain the Highline in Manhattan, showcase just how successful and beneficial a community garden can be.
Here are other examples of community garden projects to reclaim, “Underutilized infrastructure and reimagine it as public space:”
If there are areas within your home city that could use a local touch of green thumb, learn from the Highline and the Highland Gardens Community Garden, and encourage your government leaders to partner with you to improve your city’s overall image.
Author: Benjamin Paley is a member of the South Florida Chapter of the ASPA. He graduated in 2018 from Florida Atlantic University with a Master of Public Administration degree. He currently works at Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach, Florida as their Social Justice Fellow. Email: [email protected].
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