Letter: 'Thank You RTM for Approving Cos Cob Community Garden Plan

On behalf of the Board of Greenwich Community Gardens, I’d like thank the RTM and the Town of Greenwich for supporting us and granting us a lease for the FIRST public/private partnership Community Garden in Greenwich. I’d also like to thank our many supporters who came to the October 28th RTM meeting and proudly wore our Greenwich Community Garden Tshirts, plus those of you who support us but could not be present at the meeting.

We believe that community gardens can change lives, improve individual health, wellness and happiness, and make us a healthier and happier community. This is not a new concept, nor are we the only ones doing this. There are well over 18,000 community gardens in the United States today. What do all these gardens have in common? They help to get people outdoors for the shared experience of growing food and help to connect them to each other for the common cause of creating a healthier, better life for everyone. 

There is proverb that says, “More grows in the garden than the gardener sows”. We know this is true, because we have experienced it firsthand over the past five years at the Armstrong Court Community Organic Garden.  The success story of the Armstrong Court Community Organic Garden is that it not only provides all residents the opportunity to grow healthy food and learn more about gardening, but that it brings hundreds of people together from all walks of life, all ages, all backgrounds and from all corners of this town. Those of us who have gardened there, volunteered our time or donated services or support have not only added something meaningful to the rich history of our town, but we have also become personally enriched by the experience. 

Michael Pollan, the author of “The Omnivores Dilemma”, “In Defense of Food” and “Second Nature” puts it this way, “FOOD is not just Fuel. FOOD is about Family, FOOD is about Community, FOOD is about Identity. And we nourish all those things when we eat well.” So it is in this tradition of growing food that nourishes and binds us that we—Greenwich Community Gardens—are proud to have celebrated our 5th year of Community Gardening in Greenwich. We are proud and excited to start building our second community garden on Bible Street in Cos Cob, adding an additional 88 garden plots to the 125 that we now have at Armstrong Court. This is a great beginning, and as long as there is support and demand for community gardens, we will endeavor to create more community gardens throughout the town of Greenwich. 

Let’s get gardening together!  

Patty Sechi, 

Founder & President, Greenwich Community Gardens

Director, Armstrong Court Community Organic Garden