My Speech for the Annual Meeting

Here is what I am going to share at the annual meeting on Monday. A neighbor came by and suggested I share this to help people understand the situation and come to the meeting in a positive way.

Hi, I’m Amy _, and I would like to speak on behalf of the community garden planners and volunteers tonight about the garden proposal. The community garden project began over a year ago with the distribution of a survey to each and every household in Sycamore Hills. Two basic questions were asked: Is there interest in and support for the garden proposal, and if so, where should the garden be located?

We asked these questions because we wanted to find out if the community garden was something our neighborhood wanted. It was very important to us that our neighbors felt that their voices mattered in the planning process, even if they didn’t plan to be directly involved in the garden itself. We asked questions and listened carefully, especially when people expressed reservations about the garden, because we wanted the project to be for and by the community.

Many people responded to the initial survey. Those responses can be summed up as follows: Yes, we think a community garden is a good idea, but putting the garden on Shadowbrook is not a good idea. Based on this positive response from the community, planning for the garden moved forward, with a focus on locating the garden in the park.

Meetings were held to which all were invited, emails were sent out, updates were published, and a blog was set up so that everyone could see and take part in the planning. And good things started to happen! People joined in and helped shape the garden--they volunteered their time to work on the four grants we submitted, they worked on the entrances to raise money for the project, they worked with the City of Columbus to create a new community garden/city park lease agreement, and they wrote letters to businesses and schools to create partnerships.

Until very recently, none of the garden planners had any idea that a few people were unhappy about the community garden project. No one contacted any of the garden planners with a simple phone call or email for clarification. Instead, a handful of folks spread misinformation, and as a result, what had been apathy on the part of some turned into anger.

When the garden planners finally caught wind of some opposition to the plan, a new survey was distributed. Again, the idea was to invite people to voice their feelings about the garden proposal and to take part in the planning. Many people responded (thank you) and so now we have a more accurate idea of how the community garden proposal is perceived. Although there is even more support for the garden than before, there is also new opposition to the garden in the park. Because we could not find a location that worked for everyone and because our intention was always to do the will of the community, the garden project will not move forward at this time.

It is disappointing that the many people who spent hours volunteering their time for this community project could have and would have spent their time more productively on other projects if people had expressed their concerns about the garden project when first given the opportunity to do so. We hope that the people who are involved now will continue to be involved in positive and neighborly ways and that people who have good ideas for the community do not become reluctant to propose them because of the way in which the garden project has unfolded.

This is the end of the community garden, but the beginning of something else. Just the planning and working toward the garden have brought many neighbors together. I personally have made new friends and connected with people I wouldn’t have had a chance to talk with otherwise. This work has created a lot of support and interest in a community building initiative around gardening, so we hope that all of that goodwill and fellowship create something else really great.

In closing, thank you to the neighbors who joined in the conversation, thank you to the volunteers who gave of themselves for the betterment of others, and thank you for your attention.