Volunteers from the The Food Project worked on Earth Day to prepare a new community garden in front of the Lynn Vocational Technical Institute, which would be used by about 20 residents who have applied for space in the garden.
Construction on the pilot project at Lynn Tech finished in October, but volunteers spent Thursday morning carving out the plots in preparation for an orientation Saturday aimed at residents partaking in the project.
The orientation will provide the community gardeners with information about the space and help them set up their garden beds.
Tyler Kebreau, a senior at Lynn English High School, has been volunteering with The Food Project since 2018 and said he likes the feeling he gets from doing meaningful work.
“It’s also enjoyable,” he said. “I like making connections with the community and meeting people, and just being useful and helpful.”
The Food Project, a nationally-recognized nonprofit with an office in Lynn, offered a variety of bed sizes for participants ranging from 4-by-4 feet to 4-by-24 feet. Additional space was also provided as needed.
Community garden plots cost $25 and are assigned each year by a lottery. The fee goes right back into The Food Project, which uses the money to purchase supplies, such as dirt and shovels.
“It’s very open,” Kebreau said. “There’s plenty of space for people to grow their produce.”
Kebreau said most of the people participating are local, with some coming from the neighboring Neptune Towers and Marian Gardens Apartments.
According to the Lynn Grows website, having a farm right on the Lynn Tech campus will allow The Food Project to grow more culturally-diverse crops for distribution while “offering a space for residents to grow the varieties that they love for their own families.”
The nonprofit has a few community gardens throughout the city, including the Warren Park Community Garden and the Ames Community Garden, located on Strawberry Avenue.
Since this is a pilot project at Tech, Kebreau said the organization hopes to hire two community garden coordinators so it can open up the space to more people.
“We’re looking to see — if we can handle it — maybe opening up to more people in mid-July,” he said.
The Food Project will be installing a fence and every community gardener will be provided a key for access.
Kebreau and fellow Lynn English senior Geneliz Herrera are the “Lynn gardens interns” for The Food Project’s new intern program.
Andres Bolanos, an assistant grower, has been working with The Food Project for about two weeks and said he really enjoys doing projects like this for the community.
“It just gives people a space to want to be able to grow produce that is not always accessible at all supermarkets,” he said.
Bolanos said he grew up on a small farm in Guatemala so it’s nice to see a community that is excited about farming.
He is hopeful the project will expand, and wants more people in the community to take part in gardening. The location of the Lynn Tech garden used to just be a grassy area next to the gym, but Bolanos said it’s nice to see the area repurposed for something good.
“I think that anything you are doing, you can find fulfillment in,” he said. “It’s always a plus when you’re doing what you love and you can help out your community at the same time.”
