LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Save the DeWitt Clinton garden

Posted

To the editor:

(re: “Hopes dim for Clinton garden as DOE clamps down,” Aug. 12)

As a resident of Van Cortlandt Village and community volunteer at the James Baldwin Outdoor Learning Center, I was appalled by the education department’s decision to uproot the DeWitt Clinton garden.

The garden has been a precious resource for our community, as well as providing a wonderful hands-on experience for the students. It also has been great for Clinton’s image.

I have been working with Clinton students at the garden since 2019 after Ray Pultinas and his crew helped us establish our own community garden at the Park Reservoir co-operative on Sedgwick Avenue. Their help in launching and maintaining our garden has been invaluable.

Frankly, based on my memories of Clinton in the 1980s when we first moved here, I was nervous about working with Clinton students. But working with them was a wonderful experience, and erased those old negative images completely. The students worked hard and were eager to learn. They weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty.

I respect those young learners, and I believe they have a bright future.

The gardening program offers valuable learning opportunities you can’t get in a classroom. I’ve learned alongside the students about perma-culture gardening, how plants relate to one another, and how all things in nature are interconnected.

Why dismantle this beautiful garden? It took years for all those plants and trees to grow. They support a wide variety of insects and birds, and release oxygen at a time when biodiversity, sustainability and addressing climate change is critical to our future.

Does it make sense to tear up all these herbs and trees to make room for a lawn? Is Clinton going to offer a class on how to mow a lawn?

In your recent issue, you have a letter in which schools chancellor Meisha Porter writes that she “deeply appreciates the partnership of the city’s families” (re: “Return to school is ‘homecoming,’” Aug. 12). Have the families of Clinton students been involved in this decision?

The community has a stake in this, too. The relationship between DeWitt Clinton and the community is important. It shouldn’t be decided without respecting input from the community.

Surely, the city’s education department can find a way to resolve any problems and issues, while still preserving the garden.

Ariya Blitz

Have an opinion? Share your thoughts as a letter to the editor. Make your submission to letters@riverdalepress.com. Please include your full name, phone number (for verification purposes only), and home address (which will not be published). The Riverdale Press maintains an open submission policy, and stated opinions do not necessarily represent the publication.
Ariya Blitz,

Comments