Special to the Patriot-Bridge
The Charlestown Sprouts Community Garden is opening its space to the public to celebrate another year of building infrastructure, community, and knowledge of growing food on Saturday, September 14. Offering a wide range of fun activities, culture, and refreshments, the party is free and open to the public.
Charlestown Sprouts’ Annual Celebration will run from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and will feature Tai Chi at 9:00 am in Chinese and English with the Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi Academy, live music, cooking demonstrations, puppets from the Puppet Free Library along with bubbles and art activities for children.
According to Jessica Yu, a Sprouts gardener since 2022, “I like the garden because I have organic vegetables. I am enjoying planting—it makes me feel good.” In addition to organic gardening, many of the Sprouts Community gardeners are able to grow varieties that are familiar to their cultures of origin yet not commonly available in supermarkets.
Charlestown Sprouts was organized in the 1990s, originally serving children and youth at the Charlestown Boys and Girls Club. It moved to its current location on Terminal Street in 1997, was incorporated in 1998, and is a federally recognized charitable organization. Currently Sprouts has gardening spaces for 68 families. Sprouts members work collectively to maintain the garden’s public area and infrastructure, supporting the garden’s mission to be a welcoming natural space in the city that brings together diverse people of all ages to grow, harvest, share & eat healthy food.
In past years, Sprouts has enlivened the community by sponsoring Chinese lion dancers, Kung Fu demonstrations, Dragon Boat paddling exhibitions, cooking with garden harvests, and gardening workshops. This year, the garden celebrates its partnership with the Mystic River Watershed Association to create an urban meadow in the open land surrounding the Sprouts garden, planted with native species to promote pollination both in the meadow and in the garden.
The meadow will also include a new open space for the community to gather for programs and recreation.
Charlestown Sprouts is located in a Massachusetts-designated environmental justice community which has high numbers of low-income, minority, and non-English speaking individuals. Gardening families come from countries in Asia, North America, the Caribbean, and South America. Because of the large number of low-income gardeners, Charlestown Sprouts is a critical neighborhood resource to harvest culturally appropriate food for families.
Any updates to Sprouts’ Annual Celebration will be posted on their Facebook page at facebook.com/charlestownsprouts. Residents interested in being added to the Charlestown Sprouts garden plot wait list should contact 617-669-4509 or email [email protected].