Gardeners Gathering 'a symbol of hope' for Boston during a time of recovery, reopening and renewal
Boston Mayor Kim Janey welcomed gardeners to the 45th annual Gardener’s Gathering as it kicked off on Saturday, March 20 in a virtual format.
“I want to say happy spring and greetings to the more than 500 gardeners gathered today,” said Janey. “As we come together as a community, today is a milestone. The Gardener’s Gathering is a symbol of hope that better days are ahead, and we certainly need that now. The beautiful new signs of life that arrive each spring are even more meaningful this year. This is truly a time for recovery, reopening and renewal of our community gardens, and public spaces.”
Thanking The Trustees for being a strong partner for the City of Boston, Mayor Janey noted, “[The Trustees] bring our gardening community together with training and support, and through land ownership they permanently protect 56 community gardens in the City of Boston. Their support is critical for protecting and maintaining green spaces in our city. They also help city residents access healthy produce—the Mobile Market makes healthy choices more affordable and convenient for city residents. As a gardener myself I understand how community gardens bring so many benefits to our communities. Gardens bring neighbors together with a common goal to provide important access to healthy food, and they have an amazing way of sparking joy—something that we all need.”
The Gardeners Gathering welcomed award-winning chef, culinary historian, and author of The Cooking Gene Michael Twitty as the keynote speaker. Twitty—a two-time recipient of the James Beard award—delivered a presentation on culinary justice, exploring the ways that recipes, heirloom crops and food are coevolved with identities and histories, and the practicing of integrated learning across intergenerational linguistic and ethnic spaces.
“Community gardens bring people together,” said Twitty during his keynote entitled Growing Forward. “Intergenerational learning occurs. Interethnic learning occurs. We learn about each other on multiple intersectional ways. The aim of culinary justice as opposed to food justice is: Food justice is about access to healthy, nutritional food as a human right. Culinary justice is about the knowledge behind the preparation of that food, and the empowerment that it brings communities.”
Twitty added, “Culinary justice is about restoring the value and the impact—the power—to otherwise marginalized and oppressed communities. When you are othered, when you are marginalized, when you are oppressed, the greatest form of your cultural capital is how you survive your oppression. A lot of times that comes out in the form of creative acts of social justice, moral suasion, political activism, and artistic and aesthetic creativity, and that includes food.”
Traditionally serving as the kickoff of the gardening season for the City of Boston, this year’s Gathering featured workshops for many interests and skill levels including: fostering diversity & inclusion in gardens; culturally important crops; building your own raised bed; urban composting; seed saving; gardening as a tool for cultivating community, and more (Click here for the full program). It also continued the tradition of annual garden awards, recognizing gardeners and gardens:
Rookie Garden of the Year: The Ellington Street Community Food Forest Garden (Dorchester)
Most Valuable Gardener: Robin Saunders, Nightingale Community Garden (Dorchester)
Hall of Fame Garden: Leland Street Co-operative Garden (Jamaica Plain)
“I want to thank you, our urban gardeners,” said Janey. “You have risen to the challenges of this difficult time. As we all seek to find joy in our daily lives you have safely kept our gardens open. Our public parks are also an important source of joy. They benefit public health, combat climate change, and create more equitable communities.”
Part of the fabric of the City's network of open space, Boston has 175 community gardens spread throughout 11 neighborhoods, and more than 2,300 acres of parkland including 217 City parks, playgrounds and athletic fields.
Of the $25.5 million in funds awarded by the City of Boston through the Community Preservation Act (CPA) this year, $6.2 million will go to open space and recreation projects, Janey noted. Parks are a key component of Resilient Boston Harbor, a vision outlining resilience measures to help adapt vulnerable waterfront areas to the effects of climate change, including sea level rise and storm surge.
“Building resilient parks on our waterfront protects us from the threat of sea level rise and creates space where all Bostonians feel welcome,” added Janey. “And The Trustees understand this, they’ve begun the hard work of building Piers Park III. This project in East Boston will help combat climate change and build a more resilient Boston.”
The Trustees Boston Waterfront Initiative, One Waterfront, will share the first design drafts for Piers Park III during community meetings on March 29 (in English) and March 30 (in Spanish). Participants will be asked to give input, ask questions, and share suggestions.
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