Lynn groups pitch community gardens

LYNN – While most gardeners are getting ready to put their gardens to bed for the winter, Kristina Pechulis is making plans to bring three new community garden projects to parks around the city.Pechulis, director of Lynn Food and Fitness Student Alliance and Mass in Motion Lynn coordinator, brought a plan to the Lynn Parks Commission to establish gardens at the Northern Avenue Playground, Bennett Street Playground but will probably start with Ames Playground, said Pechulis,.”It’s a slow process … we’ll probably start with Ames,” she said. “Hopefully we’ll have it going within the next year.”Pechulis approached the commission last week about permission to launch the project, bearing in mind the recent development of a community garden policy. In July Pechulis teamed up with The Food Project, the Highlands Coalition and several other local agencies to establish the policy because interest in establishing community gardens has been growing. The Food Project installed such a garden on Munroe Street a number of years ago and the Highlands Coalition launched one in Cook Street park last year.Pechulis said the garden she has in mind is similar to the Cook Street efforts, where residents would tend their own plots, but it would follow the new policy.Policy details include using only raised garden beds as a way to exclude concerns regarding soil contamination, having a garden supervisor, figuring out a water source and laying down basic garden rules. Pechulis has said there will also likely be a nominal fee but that and other issues, like what to do with violators, are still being ironed out.The policy will also eventually include the formation of a Garden Council to oversee community garden requests, but in the meantime Pechulis is shopping her idea to establish such gardens in three city parks by various boards and officials as well as the neighbors to make sure everyone is on board.She said the Park Commission has been very supportive. It is happy with the pace of the project and the fact Pechulis is eager to get everyone to buy into the project. Her largest target is getting the neighbors to agree to it since it will hopefully be them who will literally buy into the project.”The policy is under the Parks Commission,” Pechulis said. “There is a lot of interest in community gardens in general in Lynn and because there hasn’t been a policy no one knew how to move forward.”Her petition to start the three community gardens over time is a test run of sorts for the policy, she said.Pechulis said she chose the three parks based namely on recommendations from the Parks and Recreation Department. Northern Avenue has a lot of space but is also prone to flooding. She said that is probably the last garden they will establish. Bennett Street Playground, at the corner of Elmwood Avenue, is small but its basketball courts are rarely used. Pechulis said that would be the perfect spot for a community garden. Likewise, Ames Playground, tucked off Strawberry Lane, has defunct tennis courts, which Pechulis is eyeing to use.”Any garden design will have to be approved by the Parks Commission before it can be done,” she added quickly. “And we have to find funding to actually build the community gardens so it’s a slow process.”