Rosenberry: Community gardens bring benefits to towns

It doesn't look like much right now.

Actually, the sprawling garden in Fairport's Potter Park seems downright lonely. Its raised planting beds are snow-covered, forgotten even by the deer and rabbits. The shrubs that surround it as as a living fence are bare, while a handful of other bushes still hold onto their sagging leaves, stubbornly refusing to submit to the wintry weather.

Come this summer, though, Perinton's Community Garden will have come alive, transformed into a patchwork quilt of natural beauty and healthy eating.

Community gardens are cropping up all over the place as towns begin to recognize and embrace their many benefits. Encouraging healthy eating is just one. The gardens also promote community pride and togetherness, offer learning opportunities for children, save grocery dollars, protect green space and enhance a town's natural beauty.

The Perinton Community Garden is a great example of how towns and villages are embracing the concept.

An actual victory garden back in the 1940s, then an ice skating rink, this section of Potter Park was reborn as a garden in 2011, when the town first laid out 70 plots. It became so popular so fast that it was soon expanded to 88 plots. Even still, all but three of those plots have been reserved for the 2015 growing season, and it's not even February.

Most of the garden's plots are reserved for Perinton residents. But true to its community-centered purpose, a separate section also has been set aside for their "share-the-harvest" program.

Residents volunteer for two weeks at a time to tend the garden, and in turn are allowed to take with them as much as they're able to eat. Plus, upward of 30 percent of the produce from the share-the-harvest garden is donated to local groups and charities like Foodlink.

The garden has become everything Perinton has hoped it would be.

"This has brought the community together," said town recreation director Diane Riesenberger. "The community has embraced it, everyone has really been wonderful."

"We wanted this to be something of beauty and something we could be proud of, and so far we're doing well."

Several of our east-side towns host community gardens. Brighton's is one of the largest. Established in 2009, it's located on Westfall Road, adjacent to the Buckland House at Buckland Park, and boasts 100 plots, each 10-by-10 foot square.

With its year-round farmers market and recycling programs, the town of Brighton has long been a supporter of organic agriculture and environmental sustainability, and its community garden is no different. It even says so right on the application:

"The community garden serves to connect the community to the town's historical agricultural past, improve access to healthy, local foods, and provide educational outreach to the community on sustainable gardening practices."

Furthermore, it adds, "The community garden has transformed the existing agricultural land into a vibrant, community-centered place that beautifies the area."

And really, that's what it's all about.

Read more on the East Extra Facebook page. Email Missy at dandceastextra@gmail.com with east-side news. See more community news at DemocratandChronicle.com/communities.

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Get your plot soon

A few spots are still open for the Perinton Community Garden. For more information, contact the Perinton Recreation and Parks Department at (585) 223-5050.

Applications for the Brighton garden will be accepted beginning in February. Contact the Brighton Recreation Department at 220 Idlewood Road, or email brightoncommunitygarden@gmail.com for an application.