A group of refugees from Russia, Bosnia, Somalia and Belarus traveled to Hamilton's greenhouse on Saturday, April 5, to plant seedlings for their gardens located at the F.X. Matt Apartments. Senior Jenney Stringer, who organized the community effort that resulted in the creation of a community garden at the apartments last summer, planned Saturday's event as a way for residents to start the gardening process in advance of the outdoor growing season.
"I was happy that some of the families brought seeds from their home country and that they had the opportunity to ask Hillary (the greenhouse supervisor) about her recommendations regarding when to plant heirloom seeds and how to keep the pests away. It was a great exchange of information," said Stringer. Additional seeds and potting materials were funded by Home Depot.
"Each individual had the choice of planting whatever vegetables they knew their family would enjoy. Some people planted only tomatoes, while others planted a mixture of onions peppers and beans," Stringer explained. Hamilton's greenhouse supervisor will care for the plants for eight weeks before the plants are brought to the F.X. Matt gardens for planting.
The Arthur Levitt Center funded the transportation to and from the campus. The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties, Inc. provided a $5,000 grant to the College to support the creation of the 30 raised-bed garden plots, each 12 ft. by 16 ft. x\by 20 ft. in dimension. Each plot is registered to a specific family living within the housing complex. The Utica Municipal Housing Authority will build a fence around the gardens this spring.
Stringer began this project after touring the F.X. Matt Apartments, one of the refugee housing units in Utica, last year. Many of the residents come from regions of the world where gardening is a significant part of their culture. Stringer began considering how to create a community garden on the Matt property. Farming, she explained, is very important to the refugees. "It's a part of their identity."
The garden, Stringer hopes, will function as a communal project and as a social place, a common experience and responsibility founded in spite of linguistic and cultural differences. As she put it, this is "bringing people together through gardening."
"I was happy that some of the families brought seeds from their home country and that they had the opportunity to ask Hillary (the greenhouse supervisor) about her recommendations regarding when to plant heirloom seeds and how to keep the pests away. It was a great exchange of information," said Stringer. Additional seeds and potting materials were funded by Home Depot.
"Each individual had the choice of planting whatever vegetables they knew their family would enjoy. Some people planted only tomatoes, while others planted a mixture of onions peppers and beans," Stringer explained. Hamilton's greenhouse supervisor will care for the plants for eight weeks before the plants are brought to the F.X. Matt gardens for planting.
The Arthur Levitt Center funded the transportation to and from the campus. The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties, Inc. provided a $5,000 grant to the College to support the creation of the 30 raised-bed garden plots, each 12 ft. by 16 ft. x\by 20 ft. in dimension. Each plot is registered to a specific family living within the housing complex. The Utica Municipal Housing Authority will build a fence around the gardens this spring.
Stringer began this project after touring the F.X. Matt Apartments, one of the refugee housing units in Utica, last year. Many of the residents come from regions of the world where gardening is a significant part of their culture. Stringer began considering how to create a community garden on the Matt property. Farming, she explained, is very important to the refugees. "It's a part of their identity."
The garden, Stringer hopes, will function as a communal project and as a social place, a common experience and responsibility founded in spite of linguistic and cultural differences. As she put it, this is "bringing people together through gardening."
