Whenever I talked about our volunteer trip beforehand, one of the first questions was always, "How are you going to work in a garden in New York during December?" Certainly a valid question. I didn't have the complete answer myself... Just some reassurances from our work site that it would be related to environmentalism even if we had to work indoors.
We arrived at the Children's Magic Garden before our site contact showed up the first morning. Most of us were surprised at the mess. As Floridians, we are acclimated to greenery everywhere: on our lawns, on campus, off the highway, in summer, in winter. This garden was filled with a miscellany of cigarette butts, foil wrappers, random pieces of paper, and a mysterious brown mush of what had once been verdant leaves. Chain link fence cut the space into a strange L-shape wedged against the sidewalk and the tattoo parlor next door.
Aresh, our site contact, explained the contentious legality surrounding the garden: a developer claimed part of the garden space, but the community of the Children’s Magic Garden rallied together to sue them in the New York State Supreme Court (which is still ongoing).
Our first day was spent cleaning up and organizing the garden, and the rest of our time with Aresh was spent painting banners for a demonstration at Kings County Court in Brooklyn. We worked at the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center. At times we were frustrated at Aresh’s methods, but we learned to trust his experience instead of our outside perspective. Some of the artists in the CSV also welcomed us into their studios. Our experience was unique and we were able to learn more about the community we were helping.
You can find out more about More Gardens! at their website.
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