From Jake Tibbles, Clayton:
The Zenda Farm Community Garden, outside the village of Clayton, is a place for families to come together to grow vegetables. Kevin and Emma Durr, Clayton, picked this Blue Hubbard squash to take home.
The Zenda Community Garden is a joint project between the Thousand Islands Land Trust (TILT) and the Thousand Islands Young Leaders Organization (TIYLO). The Zenda Community Garden was designed to provide participants access to inexpensive, healthy and nutritious food that is not subjected to any hazardous chemical or pesticides. Some of us would like the option to eat food that has not been grown by agribusinesses. Others lack the space or the experience to grow their own food. At Zenda Farm, TILT and TIYLO have both the space and the access to expertise.
All age groups share the pleasure of working in the garden.
The Community Garden Initiative brings neighbors together and empowers them to supplement their food supply by growing healthy and nutritious food themselves. Community gardening stimulates social interaction, encourages self-reliance, truly beautifies neighborhoods and produces nutritious foods, while reducing family food budgets. Also, the community is connected to the source from which their food originates, fostering a sense of trust and collaboration among the participating residents.
The Community Garden is located on land in the Thousand Islands Land Trust (TILT). Organizers anticipate that the number of participating gardeners will continue to increase.
The Zenda Community Garden is located on TILT’s Zenda Farm Preserve. Zenda Farm is a multifaceted preserve that TILT characterizes as one of its “signature preserves”. In 1997, Zenda Farm was donated to TILT by John and Lois Jean MacFarlane. The gift ensured that the 130 acres of rolling hay fields, which form the scenic gateway to the Town of Clayton on Route 12E, will forever remain as open space. Seen as a staple in the Thousand Islands, the Jamesway Barns were constructed in 1936, and later refurbished in 2002 by TILT. The property reflects Clayton’s rich farming and cultural history. Today, the Zenda Farm Preserve consists of approximately 400 acres of pasture land and grasslands that are managed for grassland nesting birds.
TILT, along with our many conservation partners, continues to develop the Zenda Farm Preserve in a manner that mirrors our mission; working to conserve the natural beauty, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities in the Thousand Islands region. With the addition of a 2 mile hiking & biking trail and the community garden, Zenda Farm stands at the forefront when it comes to promoting and preserving the regions natural and anthropogenic heritage.
On its 2nd year, the Zenda Community Garden has 21 families enrolled. Gardeners are responsible for everything from planting individual seeds to watering on a daily basis. Each spring, there is a Start of the Garden Season meeting. At this meeting, gardeners discuss what worked and what didn’t work last year, and what vegetables should be planted this year. Also, gardeners start several flats of plants from seeds. This reduces the costs associated with the start-up of the community garden each year.
During the growing season, gardeners are required to spend at least a minimum of one hour per week, planting, watering, or weeding in the garden. Gardeners are paired based on each individual’s gardening experience. This allows gardeners at all levels to learn and/or pass down gardening knowledge. As vegetables begin to be harvested, a list is kept by the gardeners to keep track of produce shares.
In just two years, the amount of interest in the local Community Garden Initiative has exponentially increased. With a 7000 square foot main garden and the addition of a 1000 square foot pumpkin patch, I anticipate an increase in community garden participants each year. With several river communities following in Clayton’s footsteps, the Community Garden Initiative has been strongly felt at a local scale. This has been made possible by organizations such as TILT and TIYLO, local businesses, and supporting municipalities. The Zenda Community Garden has been extremely fortunate in obtaining support from local businesses and individuals.
The expenses, to date, have come from private donations and not from any set fee structure related to participation in the garden. It is our goal to continue to offer free access to our community garden. Private donations have helped us to offer a fully-functional garden, offering fresh produce, at no cost to those who chose to participate.
If you have any additional questions and/or comments regarding the Zenda Farm Preserve or the Zenda Community Garden, please feel free to contact me at the TILT office (315)686-5345 or via email at jtibbles@tilandtrust.org
Tags: Zenda
