For Alexandra Patz and her seven year old son, the garden has been a refuge since they moved to New York. They had come from a town where they had a home with a backyard.

ALEXANDRA PATZ: “When we moved to the city, I was glad to find on this block that there was a little garden where we could become involved, where my son could experience digging and growing things. He’s outside. We can hear the birds tweeting. You know, he’s sitting under a tree. There are no leaves yet, but you know, they’re coming. There are little birds digging and in the dirt there, you know…Life!” [LAUGHS]

New York City has more than five hundred community gardens. The movement to create them began in the nineteen seventies. It was a difficult time. The city’s population was falling and many empty outdoor areas were filled with waste and rats.

New York began its Operation Greenthumb program in nineteen seventy eight. The program offers free crop growing classes and some gardening equipment. Yet economics can sometimes get between the gardeners and their gardens. City officials have successfully fought to re-gain control of some areas so they could sell the land to property developers.

Catherine Wint is a community garden organizer with the New York Land Trust. She and other organizers collect money to buy green space in the city. Then they surrender ownership of the land to the people in the community.

Catherine Wint says volunteers supervise and care for the gardens. She says these individuals bring their own plans, values and leadership styles.