According to Punxsutawney Phil, spring is right around the corner. If, like many, you are starting to think about your yard and lawn, here are some helpful reminders about our city’s land-care ordinance. If you’re excited to start gardening, I’ll also share how you can get involved with our local community gardens.
In 2020, South Portland finalized its landcare management ordinance which restricts the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers on all public and private (including residential) properties in the city. Per this ordinance, the city has set organic landcare methods as the primary means to care for and maintain property.
Pesticides are harmful to human health, especially children, who have developing organ systems that are more vulnerable and less able to detoxify toxic chemicals. Also, the overuse and misapplication of fertilizers on lawns causes excess nutrient loads to enter our streams, rivers, sewers, and ultimately, Casco Bay.
Organic landcare is not only better for our health and environment, it also requires less maintenance over time and fewer resources (like water and fertilizer). To discover more information about organic landcare, how to transition to an organic yard or garden, how to test your soil, how to manage weeds and pests, and much more, visit www.southportland.org/departments/sustainability-office/grow-healthy-south-portland/growing-healthy-yard-and-garden/.
South Portland community gardens
There are three community gardens in South Portland, including Redbank Community Garden, above. Courtesy photo
Community gardens are a great way to improve our daily lives. They create a space for us to spend time outdoors, connect with others, be active, ease our mental load, and grow fresh food. As we are all feeling the impacts of climate change, especially with the recent devastation of flooding, it’s now more important than ever to recognize the ways we can connect and build our community’s climate resilience.
This might look like attending a community event or activity (like gardening!) with your neighbors. Meeting and mingling with your neighbors can help foster connections and create a support system within a neighborhood, which comes in handy during a local emergency or disaster.
There are currently three community gardens in South Portland.
Redbank Village’s Community Garden, a fairly recent development, has the goal to channel community members who’d like to get their hands dirty, grow good food, and serve the Redbank/Brickhill neighborhoods. Currently, there are only six beds but, if there is interest, more can be built as there is plenty of space. There is no fee for the beds at this stage, but there is an expectation of helping to maintain the space. This past year, gardeners worked on putting mulch between the rows, getting cardboard under garden edges, creating paths and sitting areas, and learning new gardening skills from one another. There is much more in the garden’s future, and the team would love you to be a part of it. If interested, please contact the new coordinator, Rosemarie De Angelis, at rosemarie.deangelis@gmail.com for more information.
The Hamlin Community Garden is located at 496 Ocean St. with 40 beds, which are all currently full. For more information or to join a waitlist, please contact Patti Smith at pattismith1010@gmail.com.
The Parks Department Community Garden is a city-owned garden, located at Hinckley Park on Highland Avenue. It has 34 beds, each $25/year and available to South Portland residents on a first-come, first-served basis. There is currently a waitlist. For more information or to join a waitlist, email Barb Romano at bromano@southportland.org, or call 207-767-7650.
Looking for a local community garden network?
The Community Garden Collective is a nonprofit community group in South Portland, dedicated to improving the quality of life of our residents through access to organic community gardens. Follow their Facebook (Community Garden Collective) to stay updated with gardening know-how, community garden updates, and wholesome nature pictures.
Coffee & Climate
Grab a cup of coffee and join us for this month’s Coffee and Climate on Friday, March 8, from 9 to 10 a.m. The session will feature the One Climate Future team to discuss our cities’ land care ordinances, the 100 Resilient Yards project that wrapped up last fall, and all things sustainable – and legal – land care.
Andrew Tufts, habitat stewardship and landscape management expert from Maine Audubon, will join us to help answer our questions.
Register online at https://portlandmaine-gov.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIocu2hqj8vGNaD2NWj35piKvt2ycIRbln_.
Our Sustainable City is a recurring column in the Sentry intended to provide residents with news and information about sustainability initiatives in South Portland. Follow the Sustainability Office on Instagram @soposustainability.
Jenna d’Arcy is an AmeriCorps/GPCOG Resilience Corps fellow serving in the South Portland Sustainability Office through September 2024. She can be reached at jdarcy@southportland.org.
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