UPDATE
As of July 2018, a small working group from Project Growing Hope has begun actively negotiating with the development team for the former Carpenter Business Park site. At this time it looks like a garden will remain on the site in some form, but this petition could still make the difference between a large, vibrant community garden that meets the city’s need for garden sites for the Fall Creek, Northside, and Waterfront neighborhoods, and one that struggles to survive. A broad show of support for community gardening at this time may also facilitate the creation of additional community gardens in other neighborhoods of the city.
History, Background
The Ithaca Community Gardens, run by the not-for-profit Project Growing Hope, has been an Ithaca institution for 41 years, and has been located near the Farmers Market for over 35 years. The land around the Gardens was purchased in 2017 with plans to develop it.
This well-established gardening community now serves the downtown neighborhoods in the best possible way at its current location, and any move away from these neighborhoods would make access to the Gardens very difficult, especially for our large low-income population. A move could even threaten the Gardens’ very existence.
So we are gathering petition signatures to encourage the City of Ithaca to keep the Gardens permanently at our current location at Carpenter Circle, within the newly-designated Market District. We would like to show that there is wide support for this, so whether you garden with us or not, if you value having a large, central community garden in the heart of downtown Ithaca, please sign our petition online.
Please encourage as many people to sign as possible, both within our community and beyond. Thank you very much for your support!
Help Collect Paper Petitions
1. Print this petition form, or call 607-216-8770 (messages only) and we will mail you the form.
2. Make sure the name is legible and the full address and date is provided for each entry. Try to fill in most of the lines (12 to a sheet) if you can, then tally, sign and date the bottom line.
3. Please mail completed, signed sheets to Project Growing Hope, PO Box 606, Ithaca, NY 14851.