Andy Nolan always keeps watch over the Hunting Park Community Garden. His gentle smile painted on a building’s exterior is a reminder of the agricultural success of seven once vacant lots turned nurseries in the surrounding area.Today the real Andy Nolan is here with friends Carlos and Michael-Ann; tending to the mosaic wall that provides a safe-haven to an eclectic mix of tomatoes, grapes, peppers, herbs and raspberries springing through the soil.
This inner city Eden is Nolan’s brainchild.
However, the garden needed extra assistance to flourish into what it is today.
By becoming a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) area Nolan and others were able to provide a number of plots to members of the community. With these plots individuals were given the opportunity to grow their own plants/vegetables within the garden and sell them for profit.
“[The garden] didn’t really take off until the two friends of mine decided to do this CSA. Until then it was just me and the people from the neighborhood. After that it made the other lots possible,” says Nolan.
Members of the community tend to the garden as often as possible, usually on Saturdays. Many volunteers make time to help maintain the thriving plots of land.
“A lot of us have full-time jobs so we just get out here as often as possible,” says Nolan.
Nolan also says that the children of the community have played a major role in the continued progress of the gardens.
“Kids love to come and help. We have kids we’ve actually hired to work here.”
For Nolan, the collection of greenery is more then he could have ever imagined.
“It’s my dream garden,” he says. “I love it.”
By Brittany Miller and Kenneth Marone
Team 14: Hunting Park
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