The Filbert Street Garden in Curtis Bay (neighborhood in Baltimore, MD) has been a mainstay of community activity and organizing. Rodette Jones is the coordinator of the facility for the Chesapeake Children and Youth Center (CCYD) that has been serving the community for over 40 years. The Garden includes practical programs for children and youth serving elementary, middle and high schools. The success of the facility paved the way for a major expansion of the program to a 5.5-acre site owned by the City Parks Department that will be developed as both a compost and greenhouse facility.
Young people have been working and interning at the Filbert Street Garden for years. In 2016, Besith Pineda worked from August through November at several community gardens in the city, but primarily at Filbert Street. Ms. Pineda is an English Literature Major and Sustainability Studies Minor at the University of Maryland. Her work, supported by a stipend from the local Sierra Club, included gardening education and environmental science at after school programs as well as hands on gardening work.
“This was a great internship for me,” stated Pineda. The internship is a stepping stone from her past experience in mulching, container gardens, mowing in smaller gardens to more comprehensive community facilities. “I am inspired to make a career in community and urban farming. The experience at the Filbert Street gave me a much better understanding of the role that these activities can play in the lives of young people and the community at large.”
MORE:
- Read and see more pictures from the Filbert Street Garden in this story from Sierra Club, November 2016
