Ironically, the Summer Sprout Progam was modeled after a garden established by Cleveland community police officer Dan Kane 25 years ago where he worked with neighborhood kids to plant and harvest a vacant lot. Dan is still an active garden leader and is looking forward to the 25th anniversary of the first spring planting in 1998. Coincidentally, our key contact with getting a program started in East Cleveland next year is a community police officer. Police officials see a community garden as a natural extension of their neighborhood block watch crime-prevention program. Community gardens are productive and attractive green spaces that improve the city environment and make it more attractive to new residents, homeowners and businesses.
Neighborhoods can grow around gardens.
This story about Fr. Jim O'Donnell is appropriate. When Father Jim moved to his home in the Central neighborhood twenty years ago, there were more vacant lots than neighbors on his block. He had never gardened before, but his years in ministry had taught him to listen well. Maybe he heard those empty lots, full of trash and debris, calling out for some nurturing attention.