THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR OF HARLEM GREEN
JOIN US!
THE ANNUAL TOUR OF HARLEM COMMUNITY GARDENS—FREE!
Come see outstandingly productive and beautiful GARDENS AND URBAN FARMS, unique vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, gazebos, hoop houses & hydroponic growing systems, grape arbors, ponds, highly-developed composting systems and more in this sampling of Harlem’s Community Gardens on Saturday, August 29th, 2015
9 AM-5 PM
(RAIN DATE, Sunday, August 30th )
Contact: 212.662.2878
On Saturday, August 29th, Harlem’s community gardeners will invite the public to share in the 10th anniversary tour of Harlem’s miraculous, community-centered grassroots- developed green oases. Starting at 9AM with a sumptuous breakfast at the J.D. Wilson Garden on 122nd Street, and ending at 5PM with a traditional Harlem cook-out & celebration at the William A. Harris Garden, 153rd Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, the tour will take in over fifteen of Harlem’s amazing green gems.
This year, in addition to the bus transporting tour members, Philipp Rassman and Ellen Belcher of the Morris-Jumel Community Garden will lead the bicyclists. Eren T Gibson, of the Truce/McCracken Garden will head up folks who wish to hike the tour.
As one gardener put it, “These are more than just gardens; they are community institutions”-- offering educational programs, art, health and wellness, theatre, music and story-telling, canning, fermenting, and much more. Some gardens share all the food grown with their community. Others host CSA’s and Farmer’s Markets. Gardeners have come up with unique ways to harness the sun’s power and produce in small spaces with vertical gardens and solar equipment. Economical and environmentally prudent water catchment systems abound. Many gardens now host bee hives which not only produce honey but help with badly needed pollination. Tourists will see lush gardens with verdant flora and fauna, gazebos, grape arbors heavy with fruit, established fruit trees, abundant herbs, vegetables, extensive composting systems, and more.
Some gardens began over 25-30 years ago on what was then sun-parched and rubble-strewn abandoned city lots. Tourists will also visit new gardens where neighbors have more recently come together to excavate and reclaim unused, debris-strewn parcels of land.
Community gardeners have long been visionaries when it comes to community development and a healthy urban landscape. Harlem’s gardens exemplify that well. Moreover, gardens are much more than the healthy, oxygen-promoting ecosystems we all need to survive. Community gardens are oases of healing. They give individuals a sense of purpose and dignity. They strengthen communities. They help to decrease aggression and violence. They help to mitigate ADD, ADHD, and many other emotional and learning “abilities.” Community gardens soften our harsh urban environment, and decrease its toxic carbon footprint. As Haja Worley, the tour leader, has said, “Community gardeners are guardians of the land.”
Attendees are certainly encouraged to bicycle or walk the tour; however, thanks to the NYC Parks Department, a bus will transport folks who cannot walk or use alternative transportation.
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Sponsors for the event include Greenthumb and The Parks Dept. of NYC; Harlem Gardens*, The William A. Harris Garden; NYCCGC (The NYC Community Garden Coalition); Project Harmony, Inc. *Gardens included in the Tour as of this date (BUS WILL NOT STOP AT ALL) are: The JD Wilson Garden; The Chinchita’s Garden; The Electric Ladybug Garden; Our Little Green Acres; 5 Star Garden, Carrie McCracken/TRUCE Garden; The New 123rd Street Garden; Clayton Williams Garden; the PCB Wm. B. Harris Garden; Unity Garden-Park Association; The New 127th Street Miracle Garden; Mandela Park Garden; Harlem Rose Garden; The 132nd Street Garden; Margrichante Garden; Success Garden/Harlem Grown; The Morris-Jumel Community Garden; The Convent Avenue Garden; The Wm. A. Harris Garden.
