Community Gardening: Organizations & Programs

A guide to community gardening resources in the Boston Public Library and online

Community Gardening - Europe

A documentary about the European Union Hortis project. The project is designed to promote urban horticulture as a knowledge tool and a tool of social inclusion.

Community Gardening - Cuba

Cuba became a leader in organic farming and urban gardening when, after the fall of the Soviet Union, it was forced to move from a highly industrialized society to a more sustainable one.

In this clip from the BBC's "Around the World in 80 Gardens" series, Monty Don takes us on a visit to some urban gardens in Havana, Cuba as well as gardens in Mexico.

Programs & Services

Arnold Arboretum
The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is part of Olmsted's Emerald Necklace, occupies 281 acres, and is both a public park and a research institution. The Arboretum offer tours, classes, activities for kids & families, and you can read articles on plant science, ecology etc. online in Arnoldia, their quarterly magazine.
Trustees of Reservations: Boston Community Gardens
The Trustees of Reservations offer a Master Urban Gardener progam, and urban gardening workshops and community building events at their network of community gardens throughout Boston.
Massachusetts Horticultural Society
The mission the Massachusetts Horticultural Society is to promote the "science and practice of horticulture." In addition to tours, the society hosts an array of gardening workshops, lectures, and courses during the year for both adults and children.
Massachusetts Master Gardener Association
The Massachusetts Master Gardener Association runs an intensive Master Gardener training program at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Education Building, at Elm Bank, Wellesley. The course consists of fourteen classroom and lab modules covering topics such as botany, entomology, plant pathology, pruning and propagation. The Massachusetts Master Gardener Association also supplies speakers on various gardening topics. Click on the "Speakers Bureau" link for a list of topics, and information on fees.
Native Plant Trust
The mission of the Native Plant Trust (formerly the New England Wildflower Society) is to protect the region's native plants. Their headquarters, Garden in the Woods, in Framingham, MA, is a native plant botanic garden and offers educational programs.

Massachusetts Horticultural Society - Master Gardener HelpLine
Call or email the experts to get free gardening advice. Limited hours of operation.
Tower Hill Botanic Garden Hotline
The Tower Hill Botanic Garden Hotline is staffed by the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association on Wednesday, 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. You can also leave voicemail or send questions by e-mail.
UMass Extension - Home Lawn & Garden
UMass Extension recommends that you check their online resources first to see if you can find the answer to your question. If you cannot, they ask you to contact them by e-mail and they will respond.
Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association
The Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association provides assistance to Gardeners from Western Massachusetts through their hotline. Their hotline has limited hours of service but you can leave voicemail. or e-mail questions.

City Farmer
City Farmer teaches people "how to grow food in the city, compost their waste and take care of their home landscape in an environmentally responsible way." They encourage urban dwellers to eliminate their lawns and use the space to grow their own food. They are based in Vancouver, Canada, and their website reports on their work there and also on urban farming around the world.
Denver Urban Gardens
Denver Urban Gardens is a community gardening organizations that operates over 135 community gardens in the Metro Denver area, including more than 40 school-based community gardens. They provide education programs in nutrition and gardening for youth, and community training programs.
Social Farms & Gardens
A UK based organization that advocates on behalf of nature-based activities and supports "thousands of grass root organisations from small fruit and veg plots on urban housing estates to large-scale rural care farms; transforming lives and connecting people."
Greenovate Boston
Greenovate Boston, the City's community-wide greening initiative, lists joining or starting a community garden as a community project that could help Boston meet its climate and sustainability goals.
GreenThumb
GreenThumb. the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation's community gardening program, provides programming and support to over 600 community gardens in New York City's five boroughs.
NeighborSpace
NeighborSpace is a nonprofit land trust established in 1996 by the City of Chicago, the Chicago Parks District, and the Cook County Forest Preserve District . Their mission was to acquire and preserve small community gardens and parks in Chicago because so many had been lost to redevelopment. The Trust now stewards 81 community gardens, located in 31 wards, across the City of Chicago.
P-Patch Community Gardening Program
The P-Patch Program is the community gardening program of the City of Seattle's Department of Neighborhoods and oversees 88 P-Patches distributed throughout the city. They have an extensive resources section.
Philadelphia Horticultural Society
Philadelphia Horticultural Society believes "in the power of horticulture to make positive social and environmental change." In 2019 the organization adopted Vision 2027, a new strategy that fully commits to achieving these goals.
San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department - Urban Agriculture Program
The citywide Urban Agriculture Program, run by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, coordinates all the City's urban agriculture and gardening activities.
The Toronto Community Gardening Network
The Toronto Community Gardening Network works to support greening and organic gardening practices in Toronto and to make community gardening an important part of city life. The Network website has many helpful tools to support community gardening projects.

Associations & Organizations

American Community Gardening Association
The American Community Gardening Association is a nonprofit membership organization that works to build community by promoting community gardening across the United States and Canada. Some resources are free, including a community garden locator map, but most require membership.
American Horticultural Society
The American Horticultural Society is a member-based, nonprofit organization. It has educational programs, awards, and publications, and lists gardening social clubs and organizations. One of the oldest national gardening organizations in the country, the American Horticultural Society's mission is to make America "a nation of gardeners, a land of gardens."
Trustees of Reservations: Boston Community Gardens
The Trustees of Reservations have 56 community gardens under their protection, and act as a resource for all 176 community gardens in the Boston area, providing educational workshops for urban gardeners, and a Master Urban Gardener Program.
CivicWell
CivicWell (formerly the Local Government Commission) is a nonprofit organization that assists local government in establishing and maintaining livable communities. Check out their fact sheet on community gardens and the role that local government leaders can play in their development.
National Gardening Association
A national leader in garden-based education, the National Gardening Association promotes home, school, and community gardening. The Association provides plant guides, how-to videos, weed and pest control libraries, and more and supports KidsGardening.org, a provider of grants and resources to educators and families.
Plant a Row for the Hungry
A public service program of GardenComm (formerly the Garden Writers Association) that works to get individuals and organizations to donate food to their local food banks, soup kitchens, and service organizations to help feed America's hungry.
Trust for Public Land
A national nonprofit organizations that works to protect open spaces by the creation of land trusts.

Last Updated: Jan 9, 2024 11:37 AM
URL: https://guides.bpl.org/communitygardening
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Subjects: Community Resources, Crafts & DIY, Home & Garden

Tags: Boston, community, community gardens, gardening