Community gardens are the most familiar type of “commons” gardening for most people. These are usually set up with individual, private plots which someone may pay a small fee to access. This is not unlike how many of the commons in England operated (but with more land).
Community gardens create so many positive, abundant yields, it’s hard to name them all. But a few include:
Increased health Increased community involvement and connection Increased education and gardening skill Increased activism for other community benefit Decreased crime, safer neighborhood Private gardens inspired by the community garden More food security More pollinators, more support of nature
One advantage of community gardens is that they can be installed almost anywhere there is space, including empty lots, parking lots and rooftops.
Rooftop garden at University of British Columbia.
This garden is installed on the roof of public housing in Singapore.
The yield of community gardens can be greatly increased by applying permaculture principles to the design of it.
This garden in Ipswich reuses old bicycle wheels to make a fence, and engages kids in the planting process.
There are numerous websites that offer experienced, useful advice on how to start a community garden. We’ve included a couple of these in the resource section, but encourage you to explore further if planning to start a garden. We’re going to share some key elements we’ve found were present in garden projects that lasted.
- The project will need at least one person who is passionate about creating the garden. That person should be able to get along with a variety of people, and be capable of running the project. If there is more than one person, great, but even with just one person who is committed, a garden can continue productively for many years. That person can turn the project over to someone else, but they should have a similar interest and commitment.
- That person should ensure to get neighborhood buy-in or involvement. Often, the best way to do that is to get the buy-in of someone who has some influence in the neighborhood. If there are even three people interested in putting something there, it can be a long term success. If the garden is at a school, at least one teacher needs to want to be involved, but the garden will often work better if a parent or volunteer or paid staff takes care of it simply because teachers are already busy. A community garden project in St Petersburg, Florida, the Edible Plant Project, is funded by a local non-profit that pays a gardener to run the program at a number of schools.
- There should be a plan to continue outreach and getting people involved. That is more important than fancy infrastructure.
- Someone in the group should be able to interact well with the owners of the land, whether that be city officials or a church or school. That person should be good at win-win solutions, and be sympathetic to the concerns of the landowner. Those concerns should be woven into the design.
- Don’t be too rigid about following the exact steps recommended for setting up a community garden. They can unfold organically and still be successful. But sooner or later you will need to deal with the structures discussed in our resource section, so study those and be prepared to incorporate them.
- Be sure to include each permaculture principle and each petal of the flower if you’re involved in the design of a community garden. You can exponentially increase the value and yield of it if you do.
Colleague Jono Nieger was an advisor on a unique community garden project in New York City - a food forest garden on a barge, called “Swale.”
Community garden on a barge, called “Swale”, in NYC.
This section was built up into a hill to give the roots of fruit trees room to grow. Edible plant communities mix with raised garden beds. The project is partially funded by renting it out as an event space. As Mollison says, the only limit in permaculture design is the imagination of the designer.