29 Oct 2016. Boston, MA. Jamie Mattison deals with the vegetables and weeds of her garden, part of the “Berkeley Community Garden”, during the annual Fall Clean Up. The garden is located in the neighborhood South End, and is divided into 150 small gardens, that gather together families, elderly people and young students. Jamie has got one of the gardens 6 months ago, during a lottery to assign the plots that takes places every year during the Spring clean up.
29 Oct 2016. Boston, MA. Sarah Hutt and Thomas look at one of the gardens of the “Berkeley Community Garden”, in the neighborhood South End. The members of the garden have gathered for the annual Fall Clean Up before the garden, usually open to the public, closes for the winter. Sarah lives in the neighborhood, and has been involved in the garden since 1999. In the last couple of years she has started to volunteering in the management of the garden, encouraging the collaboration among the members and making sure that everybody complies with the rules of the community. For Thomas is the last day in the garden, because he is moving to a different place. “He was a homeless in the area. When we found him, we offered him to get a plot. Since then, he has created a beautiful garden!” tells Sarah.
29 Oct 2016. Boston, MA. Liam, of the members of the “Berkeley Community Garden” walks down the path that crosses the garden. The plots are distributed to new members during the annual Spring Clean Up. In order to be part of the community, the gardeners have to pay an annual fee of $ 65, taking constantly care of the garden and doing 10 hours pro year of work in the public areas of the garden.
.29 Oct 2016. Boston, MA. Liam, of the members of the “Berkeley Community Garden” walks down the path that crosses the garden. The plots are distributed to new members during the annual Spring Clean Up. In order to be part of the community, the gardeners have to pay an annual fee of $ 65, taking constantly care of the garden and doing 10 hours pro year of work in the public areas of the garden.
29 Oct 2016. Boston, MA. Helen (left), Pamela (centre) and Musita (right) laugh together during a break of the work for the Fall Clean Up of the “Berkeley Community Garden”. Among the members of the community, that involve 150 gardeners, a large part is of Chinese origin. The garden was created in the ’70s, when the city of Boston under a urban redevelopment plan decided to destroy a brick row houses in the South End. A group of Chinese and Lebanese women decide to take the empty land and start a garden, that then during the years grow involving more people, and becoming now part of the Trustees of Reservations of the city of Boston. “I thought it would have been just planting plants, but I did not realize at the beginning how much I would enjoy the people I met here, and all the old Chinese ladies. I have 11 Chinese grandmothers now” tells Pamela.
