Perspectives: On Community Gardening with Chris Widmaier

Ever wondered how a simple garden in a vacant lot can transform a community?

Today, you'll uncover the multifaceted magic behind community gardens with our special guest, Christopher Widmaier. Chris, an educator and the driving force behind Rochester Ecology Partners, shares his inspiring journey from teaching science to fostering vibrant community hubs through gardening. Listen as he recounts how these educational projects blossomed into powerful spaces for collaboration, connection, and community growth.

Christopher delves into the deeper role of community gardens, from uniting neighbors and students under a common vision to enhancing urban biodiversity. He highlights the organic networks that naturally form among garden participants and sheds light on the support from organizations such as the Urban Agriculture Working Group and the Taproot Collective.

Whether you're interested in urban agriculture, community building, or just love a good transformation story, this episode offers valuable insights into the profound impact of community gardening beyond just food production.

Learn more about Rochester Ecology Partners!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Perspectives on Peace
Transforming Tomorrow the GandhiInstitute podcast.
My name is Aaron Thompson.
This mini episode is focused oncommunity gardening in
Rochester and on the communitygardening movement more broadly.
For my guest today we haveChristopher Widmeyer, who I will

(00:22):
have introducing himselfvoluntarily.
But Chris is an educator,formerly teaching science here
in the Rochester City SchoolDistrict.
He's an entrepreneur.
He is also founder of RochesterEcology Partners, an
organization I'm proud to serveon the board of, by the way.
So I've got Chris for a fewminutes today to talk about
community gardens, and Chriswelcome.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Thanks a lot, aaron.
That introduction coveredthings pretty well.
The only thing I'd add is myconnection to community
gardening is through my teachingstarting up Gardening in a
Vacant Lot through the CITESprogram as an educational garden
with a variety of partners,which led me to get connected to
other community gardens and seeall of the different ways that
that looks, and so I'm excitedto share a little bit more about

(01:05):
that.
Two of the different formatsthat are out there.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Absolutely.
Thank you for adding thatcontext, chris.
So you kind of shared what yourentree was into community
garden.
Is this your first formalexperience rolling up your
sleeves and being involved incommunity gardening?

Speaker 2 (01:21):
I would say it is.
It was something that I reallywanted to incorporate into my
teaching the gardening andgrowing food and, with the
partnership with the RochesterEducation Foundation at World of
Inquiry, we were able to thinkabout what a garden for the
school would look like, whichthen led us to these vacant lot
gardens, which has a morecommunity-based aspect to it

(01:42):
than, say, putting some gardenbeds on the schoolyard and
things like that, which thenopened up a lot of really
interesting opportunities tothink about how we can engage
the neighbors and how the youththat were at the school could
play a leadership role, and thenhow we connect to the other
gardens in the neighborhood andbuild that community of people
that are growing food andlearning about where our food

(02:04):
comes from, and then alsolearning about how community
grows out of these gardens.
And that's the part that's themost, you know, I really enjoy
that piece of it so there's kindof so some threads here.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
There's a learning and kind of the teaching, maybe
even co-teaching thread, thiscommunity building.
You know, what do you see asthe function of community
gardens or what is theirpotential?
What function do they serve?

Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yeah, I think that the biggest thing that they do
is they bring people togetheraround a common purpose and a
shared vision, and it's reallyhard to put together a garden by
yourself and it takes a lot ofwork.
So the only way to besuccessful is to come together
with people to make it happenand, through that no-transcript,

(03:14):
share their stories of how thegarden has impacted their lives.
I also think that there's thatelement of it that people start
to see that there is natureeverywhere and that they can
cultivate nature, especially inthe city, but not necessarily.
I've talked to people abouttheir community gardens in
Pittsburgh and Penfield andaround the quay.

(03:35):
All have very healthy communitygardening opportunities, and so
I think that's another piece ofhow do we cultivate nature, not
just from a food perspective,but just from biodiversity and
having life all around us.

Speaker 1 (03:49):
In your experience, is there much communicating that
goes on between the folks whoare working in maintaining these
gardens?
There are like a network thereor is it kind of siloed active?

Speaker 2 (04:02):
I think there's some natural I'm trying to use
different language than like anorganic network, because it
sounds real punny but it is.
It is.
There's an organic network thatI've seen grown around the
gardens in the MarketviewHeights neighborhood.
You know, just through reachingout to the neighbors, as we
started the garden and then havecontinued the relationships.

(04:22):
There are just kind of veryinformal natural relationships
that form there.
But then I know there are theUrban Agriculture Working Group.
I know that the Cornell-QuabardExtension has done some things
to kind of cultivate community.
I know that the CornellCooperative Extension has done
some things to kind of cultivatecommunity, and then the Tabroot
Collective is anotherorganization that's working to
bring people together that aredoing community gardening by
having classes and offeringtechnical assistance, and so I

(04:44):
think that people are findingthe help where they need it and
where they can get it.
And I think that you knowthere's always room for both.
There's room for formalnetworks and formal
organizations.
I think that you know there'salways room for both.
There's room for formalnetworks and formal
organizations, but then there'salso room for just that.
Hey, I do this and you do thistoo, and let's learn from each
other.

Speaker 1 (05:00):
Absolutely.
What are some of the challengesthat people encounter?
Getting community gardens goingor maintaining?

Speaker 2 (05:07):
I think it's one, that it's a lot of work.
I think that you know thatpeople aren't familiar with
gardening and farmingspecifically and get excited
about it Rightly, it's a funthing to do, but then really
it's a lot of work and I thinkthat's an important lesson that
all this food we eat takes a lotof work to get to our tables,
and so I think that's onelongevity of it is.

(05:31):
Another thing that people comeacross is that it's fun to do
for a season or something, butif you're really going to invest
the hours and hours to put agarden or a farm together, then
you have to think about fiveyears, 10 years, 15 years.
You know from now what's goingto be happening with that garden
if you're really trying to havea significant impact.
But at the same time, that'swhere the structures come in of.

(05:53):
You know, are they plots thatpeople take year to year, and if
somebody doesn't want it,somebody else can pick it up, or
if there's an organization thatmanages, you know all of the
maintenance that allows peopleto just come in and have the fun
and grab some food.
I think that people learn a lotabout all the different ways
that can be structured, but youneed to think about it.

Speaker 1 (06:11):
Sure, what's your vision or hope, both for the
garden?

Speaker 2 (06:19):
Yeah, I think you know the Rochester Ecology
Partners has recently gotinvolved with the Griffin Garden
, which was the project of Worldof Inquiry that we started up
and is still World of Inquiry isstill a partner in the garden
and that we build relationshipsin ways that challenge a little
bit about what we all think ofeach other and that allow us to

(06:48):
share different perspectives.
And so that's one of my hopesfor this garden is it's a place
where people can share thoseperspectives and we're finding
ways to bring people together ina way that creates peace.
A good example is the GandhiInstitute funded a mural that is
in the garden through the YouthHealing Hates grants and we
came together with some policeofficers from the Rochester

(07:08):
Police Department and statetroopers and had community
circles where we talked aboutour own thoughts and feelings
about crime and policing andthings like that, and then
painted this mural together andput it up in the garden and had
a meal, and it was a greatexperience that helped me
understand a little better whatthe perspective of the police
officers were and hopefully helpthem understand the perspective

(07:29):
of the children at the schooland even the teachers that were
part of the project.
So things like that are, youknow, my greatest hope for what
these community gardens can helpus accomplish.

Speaker 1 (07:40):
Oh, we greatly appreciate it.
Folks like you in the communityRolla, chris Lee's committed to
these green spaces for growingcommunity.
If you will, chris, any lastpoints that you would want
people to know about as theyconsider maybe their own
involvement or are thinkingabout getting involved with
community gardens.
Any last points that you wouldwant to share with them?
And also, if folks want toreach out to you and you know,

(08:03):
the community garden that you'reinvolved in or Rochester
Ecology Partners, what's thebest way to do so?

Speaker 2 (08:08):
I think that a final takeaway is just that, if you're
considering getting involved incommunity gardening, to really
start with that question of whocan my partners be in this that
there's lots of ways that youcan work together with other
people, and whether it's thatyou find a friend and you're
like, hey, let's start a gardentogether, or you go out and find
a garden that's already started, you know places like 490
Farmers are always looking forpeople to get involved, and I

(08:31):
know Gandhi Institute's got agarden and you invite volunteers
to come.
So really, how can we find thepeople that are trying to do
this too and get to know themand work together with them,
work together with them?
And then, if people want to getinvolved with the Griffin
Garden on North Union Street,where we could use volunteers
and people to help grow the foodthere and also just come and

(08:51):
hang out and have a good time,we have that, so they can reach
out through the RochesterEcology Partners website or
through my email cwidmeyer,w-i-d-m-a-i-e-r at
rockecologyorg.

Speaker 1 (09:04):
Beautiful Chris.
Thank you so much for your timemaking the insight.
Hope it's a fantastic rest ofthe day for you, all right.

Speaker 2 (09:10):
Thank you very much, aaron, for the chance to chat
with you about this and sharethese thoughts with other people
.
I look forward to hearing more.
It's a pleasure.
Take care, all right, thanks.