Note: This is a copy of an August 20 letter sent to city officials.
Dear Mayor Beehan, Mr. Mark Watson, respected Council Members,
I’ve written to you several times in the past regarding the implementation of community gardens in, or rather starting in, the Highland View neighborhood, where I currently reside. Because of my desire to help eliminate hunger in my community, you appointed me to the Anderson County Community Action Commission, which I’ve accepted as a great honor.
My sole focus was on getting food, easy sustainable food, into this area so that families, despite their circumstances, could build something together which, in turn, would increase the sense of community and bonding that comes with dirt under the fingernails and a cold beer after for those old enough.
It is with regret that I inform you that the grant we’d hoped so fervently for from the Lowe’s Community program did not go through. We are, instead, sitting on an acre-and-a-half of land that could have been centrally located, cleared for the sole purpose of raised gardens being built and established, educating anyone that wanted to learn about gardening food, the installation of fruit trees to add better variety to the tables more commonly filled with processed foods, and the naive ideal of success.
I attended a vigil this evening with Mr. Mosby, Mr. Watson, and Ms. Garland as well as the chief of police. While there, two men spoke up overflowing with frustration that people were telling them (in the Scarboro neighborhood) what they needed instead of asking. Nobody was finding out what the communities needed. I’ve found this to be the like case in my neighborhood of Highland View.
We’re telling you what we’d like to see. We’re having to look outside our city to find these things. That shouldn’t be happening. We should be in this together.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. Peace, justice, and light to you and yours.
Mare Martell
Oak Ridge
Raymond Charles Kircher says
This is an interesting letter. Once being part of a community garden, there were many hurdles to using public property for a food garden. We had to get permission for fencing to keep animal feces and urine out of the garden, very difficult to do for cost was always on the table. But now that we have an “In God We Trust” sign on our courthouse maintained and insured by tax rate payers, the precedence of private property on public property has been set. Next was soil contamination. We found high levels of iron and lead. One lot had latex and motor oil so bad, the city was forced to clean the lot once testing revealed high levels and community attention showed run off into storm drains. Many lots were just not usable for a food garden. Next was soil conditioning. That was expensive and found many local garden shops were not willing to participate, strictly community. It was thousands of dollars and ended up being on privately owned lots that were not developed at any time where soil contamination was non-existent. The money went into fencing, raised beds, and soil conditioning. It was easier just to find a clean location on my own lot and grow there, but good luck. Raised beds will be the only way to do a community garden with the least amount of city liability. I will gladly help a few times a year with soil conditioning and testing. Watering is a completely different story, I suppose.
Anne Phillips says
What a petty, spiteful thing to say Mr. Kircher. I wonder how many people went to the Lord in prayer asking Him to help in the effort for your community garden. Ask, and not the government, and ye shall receive.
Ellen Smith says
Sorry to hear that the Lowe’s grant didn’t come through, Mare. I recall that the proposal is to clear part of the kudzu patch behind the Children’s Museum and install a garden patch there. There’s more than one way to make that sort of project happen.
I’m a member of the board of Keep Anderson County Beautiful, which applied for the grant on behalf of the neighborhood, and I also heard about the grant as a member of the city Environmental Quality Advisory Board, but I never saw the proposed budget for this project.
What was the estimated cost for the different pieces of this project? If you could publicize the plan and the projected costs locally, maybe that could help within raising money locally — or finding other grant sources. Start by posting a project summary and summary budget here!
David Allred says
We have a community garden going in at High Places Church there at the Grove Theater next spring. I wish it could be larger, but there is only one small patch of land there on the Robertsville road side. Still, it will be big enough to grow quite a bit I believe.
johnhuotari says
I’m trying to picture where that will be, David. Is the land behind the theater?
David Allred says
Yes, on the Robertsville Road side – somewhat adjacent to the gas station there at the corner. There’s probably 30 x 60 patch of grass there in front of the parking slots, maybe larger. Then along the east side there’s a nice stretch that’s maybe 120×5 that I can use. Berries along the front and I hope to plant a few fig trees if I can get them to make.