Berkeley Neighbors Try To Save Beloved Community Garden From Being Sold Away

“In the spring at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt! ” Margaret Atwood

By John Ramos
CBS
November 9, 2021

Excerpt:

BERKELEY (KPIX) — Urban green spaces have become a vital lifeline where neighborhood gardeners can gather with each other and cultivate the earth. Now, a group of Berkeley neighbors are concerned that their long-time community garden may close if the property owner decides to sell the land for development. Now they’re mounting a campaign to try to save the garden for future generations.

From the street it may look like an overgrown vacant lot, and that’s exactly what it was 17 years ago when a group of activists were looking for a place to create a community garden. Nora Shourd was one of them.

“We contacted the property owners and asked them, can we start a garden on your property? And we hit pay dirt with this owner, he was fine with it, and those guys were fine too,” she said.

So, for all that time, the two vacant lots have served as the Ashby Community Garden, a place for those who dwell on concrete sidewalks to get back to the earth, get their hands a little dirty, and provide a place of respite for people who may have no other connection to nature. Among the apple trees and pepper plants, there are flowers that serve as a welcoming home for the birds and the bees.

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