The rebirth of Sebastopol’s Community Garden
The rebirth of Sebastopol’s Community Garden
The long-neglected garden is about to get a makeover
The Sebastopol Community Garden, which was founded in 2009, is located behind the Sebastopol Skate Park on Laguna Parkway. It’s a beautiful place, especially now in spring with the fruit trees just starting to bloom and everything green and lush with this year’s rains.
But it’s also an empty place. No one sits on the benches or at the sturdy-looking picnic tables. And most of the 17 planter boxes sport weeds and long grasses instead of the luxuriant vegetable gardens imagined by its founders.
But that’s about to change, thanks to the city’s Climate Action Committee, which has taken the garden under its wing and is sponsoring a “Spring Revitalization” work day this coming Saturday, March 18, from 10 to 1 pm.
Sebastopol’s own Secret Garden
Just like the Secret Garden in the eponymous novel, the Sebastopol Community Garden was once well-tended and productive.
Jeffrey Edelheit, who with his group Planting Earth Activation, was one of the prime movers behind the creation of the garden, remembers how loved it looked in those first few years.
“We had carrots and everything!” he said.
Alas, as sometimes happens, the original gardeners ran out of energy for the project after a few years, and the city hired a part-time caretaker. When he died, the garden fell into disrepair.
It was a target of vandalism, and its bushes and greenery were a magnet for illicit activity of all kinds, not just from kids and teenagers but also from some of the homeless campers on Laguna Parkway.
The city fenced the garden and installed locked gates, cutting it off from the skatepark and nearby playground—but also from new potential gardeners. Two of its entrances are padlocked, and one gate—the one at the rear of the skate park—has a combination lock.
“Within the past few years, obviously with the pandemic and also with the higher degree of fencing that has come in there, the garden has just kind of fallen out of favor,” said Josho Somine, the Climate Action Committee member who is spearheading the restoration of the garden. “There's not a lot of people getting in there and working it much these days…There’s been sort of a shortage of love in recent years.”
That’s an understatement.
In fact there is only one gardener these days at the Community Garden: Sebastopol resident Media Leones.
Despite, its current sad state, she feels that the garden has enormous potential.
“It's a cool spot,” she said. “It gets great sun, and I've had good success growing things. It does need a bit of work. The soil needs some vitality because it’s been left fallow for so long. But there's a lot of opportunity to really come in and nourish that space. And you know, what land doesn't want to be tended? It's a nice thing to be able to do.”
After the clean-up (and perhaps as a part of it), Somine hopes to attract new gardeners to the site.
“We're looking for a bunch of new gardeners basically,” he said. “The idea is just to get the place kind of straightened up and get it ready for planting.”
“We're also going to try to increase the accessibility. Over the next couple of months, we're hoping to change the lock situation so that there will be combination locks so that gardeners can get in from the side street [Flynn Street], without having to go through the skate park.”
Somine says they’re also hoping to find some volunteers to bring some compost over during the next Sebastopol Compost Giveaway on April 2.
Leones echoes the need for a combination lock at the Flynn Street entrance. She’d also like to see a communal toolbox on the property with rakes, shovels and hoes, so that gardeners didn’t have to bring a truckload of equipment every time they wanted to garden.
Come to a Garden Party!
Here’s the “Spring Revitalization Work Day” invitation from Climate Action Committee.
Sebastopol Community Garden Spring Revitalization Workparty!
Saturday, March 18, 10 am - 1 pm
6785 Laguna Park Way, Sebastopol (behind the Skate Park)
“We are inviting you to come help the Community Garden get freshened up for spring plantings and new gardeners—and pitch in to the visioning process about how to make the site better for more people! We will be weeding, pruning, raking and mulching, and painting, with good company and snacks! Coordinators will be on hand to help direct tasks, and it’s a great chance to connect with fellow garden enthusiasts.
Bring water, gloves, pruners, cultivators, any favorite gardening tools, and clothes that you can paint in if you’d like to sand and repaint the picnic tables.
Bring: Questions: Sebastopolsinkscarbon@gmail.com”
To inquire about renting a garden box: Email planningtemp@cityofsebastopol.org or call the city at 707-823-6167. It’s $20 per year, plus a $25 security deposit to rent a box.