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Conference stresses the 'community' in community gardening

First Market Farm near Rochester's Public Market last summer
Caitlin Whyte/WXXI News
First Market Farm near Rochester's Public Market last summer

In just a few weeks, when the nights get warmer, it'll be time to plant tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and other vegetables.

People will be digging into soil all around the city -- in vacant lots, behind schools, at libraries and even medians in the road.  There are more than 120 community gardens and urban farms in Rochester.

Nathaniel Mich, Foodlink's edible education and urban farming specialist, said he hears from more and more people, especially young people, who have an interest in growing their own food.

"And really knowing where their food comes from," he said, "but also in the ways that community gardening and urban farming helps them connect with their neighbors and with the land itself, too, in a way that people find that they're often starved for here."

About 115 community gardeners from across the Rochester area are registered to attend Foodlink's fourth annual Urban Ag Conference on Saturday. It will feature hands-on workshops, discussions, demonstrations, and garden tours.

They'll also learn about the city of Rochester's new community garden permit program.

Instead of the current 10-month permits, people who tend gardens that have been on city-owned land for three or more years are eligible for five-month permits for use of the land.

"It's still free," Mich said, "but it will give them the security that they need to continue to invest in that land and hopefully open the doors for more permanent land tenure in the future as well."

Mich said local governments should view urban agriculture as a part of any long-term development strategy, and community gardeners should be treated like investors who are playing an active role in developing the health and vibrancy of their neighborhoods.

"Oftentimes, community gardens are seen as only a temporary use for land," he said, "but we see community gardens and urban farms and even big front lawn vegetable gardens as an important part of the long-term health of any neighborhood."

Saturday's conference runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at World of Inquiry School, 200 University Ave., Rochester.

Tickets are $10, but Mich said no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Beth Adams joined WXXI as host of Morning Edition in 2012 after a more than two-decade radio career. She was the longtime host of the WHAM Morning News in Rochester. Her career also took her from radio stations in Elmira, New York, to Miami, Florida.