For years, this lot sat empty on the corner of 13th and C Streets in Washington, D.C.

The lot was transformed into the 13th Street Community Park and Garden which opened to the public in May 2011.

In 2007, Capitol Hill neighbors Richard Lukas, Eric Schwalb and Christy Schwalb embarked on an effort to convert a vacant lot on their street into a community park and garden.  The lot was part of Kentucky Courts, a public housing complex in Washington, D.C. owned by the District of Columbia Housing Authority.  The only item on the site was a garbage dumpster which was used by Kentucky Courts residents.  After building community support for the project, Richard, Eric and Christy approached the D.C. Housing Authority with their idea.  The D.C. Housing Authority embraced the concept and agreed to provide funding for the project.  It would be another four years before the park and garden was built.  A Garden Grows at 13th and C Streets, the bonus film in A Community of Gardeners DVD, shows how neighborhood residents and D.C. government officials worked together and overcame funding challenges to design and build the 13th Street Community Park and Garden.

Audience members listen to the panel discussion after the film screening.

A screening of A Community of Gardeners at Busboys and Poets drew a full house on October 24.  The screening was one of thousands of events which took place throughout the country in celebration of Food Day, a national day which promotes healthy eating, access to fresh food and sustainable food production.  It was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Marsha Weiner of Food Muse Media with filmmaker Cintia Cabib, five D.C. community gardeners, and Alice Kamps, the curator of the National Archives exhibit, “What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam?.”  Kealy Rudersdorf and Nicolás Troncoso, volunteers at the Marion Street Garden, talked about their work teaching kids how to plant, harvest and cook fresh vegetables and herbs grown at the garden.  Kealy previously spent more than a year in Costa Rica working at a family-run organic chocolate farm.  Pat Ragland and her teenage son CJ shared their experiences participating in the Washington Youth Garden’s “Growing Food…Growing Together” program for the last nine years.  CJ has grown to love vegetables and gardening and plans to continue visiting the Washington Youth Garden after he begins college next year.  Jeremiah Lowery, a program fellow at Common Good City Farm, discussed how the farm is providing access to fresh, healthy food to low-income D.C. residents and teaching gardening skills to the local community.  Audience members and panelists also discussed land tenure issues, expanding community gardens in areas considered food deserts, and the resources available for individuals who want to start their own community garden.

(l. to r.) Cintia Cabib, Joyce Smith, Lewis Sharpe, Miriam Avins, and Coleen McCarty participate in the post-film discussion.

Filmmaker Cintia Cabib and her documentary A Community of Gardeners traveled to Baltimore on September 14 for a screening at the Creative Alliance.  Baltimore’s urban garden scene is flourishing.  The city has thousands of vacant lots, many of which have been transformed into community gardens.  A rich panel of Baltimore’s community gardeners participated in the post-film discussion.  Miriam Avins, the founder of Baltimore Green Space, described her organization’s work to preserve and protect community gardens so that they are not endangered by redevelopment.  Lewis Sharpe of the Duncan Street Miracle Garden shared how he is enjoying his retirement years taking care of the community garden in his neighborhood.  Joyce Smith, the Executive Director of Operation Reachout Southwest and the recipient of an Open Society Institute Fellowship, discussed her efforts to establish a community garden in southwest Baltimore to give community residents access to fresh food.  Coleen McCarty spoke about her work as the coordinator of City Farms which operates community gardens in several Baltimore city parks.  Many audience members talked about their own community gardening programs, including the preservation efforts at Mothers’ Garden and the Power in Dirt initiative to transform vacant lots into vibrant green spaces.

Children in New York City work in their school's World War II victory garden. Source: Library of Congress

A Community of Gardeners reveals the important role community gardens have played in the United States in times of war, economic depression and recession, and during periods of heightened environmental awareness.  From the late 1800s to the present, children have been involved in community garden programs.  Filmmaker Cintia Cabib traces the history of school gardens at teachinghistory.org, a Web site which provides information and resources to K-12 history teachers.  The article also includes links to free resources on integrating school gardens in the academic curriculum.

Prior to the film screening, attendees took a tour of Bread for the City's new rooftop vegetable garden.

A screening of A Community of Gardeners at Bread for the City in Washington, D.C. drew a standing-room only crowd on May 24.  The event included a tour of the organization’s new rooftop vegetable garden and a lively discussion about local garden projects, food security issues and the challenges of acquiring vacant land for community gardens.  Bread for the City provides food, clothing, medical care, and legal and social services to thousands of low-income D.C. residents.  Between 2007-2009, the organization provided the 7th Street Garden, a communal garden serving low-income residents, with free use of its land and water.  In exchange, it received fruits and vegetables from the garden to distribute to its clients.  When the organization built a new addition to its building on the garden site, the 7th Street Garden relocated and was renamed Common Good City Farm.  Bread for the City’s expanded building has a rooftop vegetable garden which will be used to grow fresh produce for its food pantry and cooking workshops.  After the screening, filmmaker Cintia Cabib, Bea Trickett of the Neighborhood Farm Initiative, and Dennis Chestnut of Groundwork Anacostia participated in a  discussion with audience members.  The Neighborhood Farm Initiative also released its new guide entitled Starting a Community Garden in DC, which can be downloaded for free here.

Jean Paul Dionou (l.) and Corinia Prince (r.) of the Fort Stevens Community Garden joined filmmaker Cintia Cabib for the world premiere of "A Community of Gardeners."

An enthusiastic audience filled the auditorium of the National Museum of Women in the Arts on March 24 for the world premiere of A Community of Gardeners at the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital.  Filmgoers had an opportunity to catch a second screening on March 25 at the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus.  Audience members learned more about the issues addressed in the film and local gardening projects during post-film discussions with filmmaker Cintia Cabib and staff members from the Washington Youth Garden, Common Good City Farm, and City Blossoms.  Several media outlets covered the premiere.  Cintia Cabib was interviewed about her documentary by Voice of America, NBC News Washington, the Gazette, and the Chevy Chase Patch.  Thank you to the Environmental Film Festival staff and to everyone who made the world premiere a big success!