Cultivating Community Amy Coplen
A male purple-throated carib feeds at a Heliconia bihai inflorescence on the island of Dominica. -Geoff Giller
T
en years ago, on a blistering summer day in New Haven, Italian immigrant Enza Madalloni sat behind the wheel of “Betsy,� her green truck. In the bed of the truck was the bow of a 15-foot boat, and crowded around the stern and sides were more than a dozen sweaty but determined community gardeners. The makeshift nautical raised bed sailed along the streets of a city where accessing healthy food can be as tough as finding water in a desert. With Enza at the helm, the boat drifted though the Fair Haven neighborhood, an area with no grocery stores and limited greenspace. When volunteers anchored their vessel in the budding community garden on Castle Street, they celebrated by shoveling in soil and compost and planting corn, beans, and squash. Enza was one of a dozen or so gardeners who graciously welcomed me into their homes to contribute to a collection of stories about New Haven’s community gardens. They work in urban greenspaces nestled in the backyards, schoolyards, vacant lots, senior citizen centers, and public housing developments that span the city. Just as biological diversity builds a healthier environment, a mixture of backgrounds, ages, and abilities is what makes the gardens thrive. Fruitful greenspaces supplement diets for those of low
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