Interview with Stephen Maciejewski (Fitzwater 2000 Community Garden)
Channel: Philadelphia Community Gardens Memory Project
Date: 15/02/2023

Interview with Stephen Maciejewski, co-founder of the Fitzwater 2000 Community Garden, longtime Philadelphia Flower Show exhibitor, and international conservationist. The interview covers how strangers from the block gathered together in 1995 to save the green space at 2042-2044 Fitzwater Street and became a force to deal with neighborhood issues, such as abandoned cars, trash, and feral cats. The interview also discusses the people and publications that made the garden’s preservation possible, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, the South Philly Review, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Neighborhood Gardens Trust (formerly the Neighborhood Gardens Association), state legislators, and Philadelphia City Council. The interview includes an overview of the garden’s design by landscape architect and fellow founding gardener Michael LoFurno, as well as discussions of standout and native plants. Other topics covered include Maciejewski’s 25-year involvement with the Flower Show, his work in international conservation projects such as the Gesneriad Conservation Center of China, and his local work preventing bird collisions with Bird Safe Philly. 

Interview and recording credit: Joe Makuc