By Angelina Banek
As spring approaches, community gardens are beginning to spring back to life. On Wednesday, March 12, students and community members gathered at the Brooklyn College Garden to practice still-life drawing. The workshop was led by professional artist Jamie Chan, who lives in the neighborhood and has her own dedicated plot in the garden.
The BC Garden is located near the Avenue H entrance to campus and is over 35 years old. Yarnell Bauzil, BC Community Garden coordinator and urban farmer of almost 10 years pointed out blooming yellow crocus flower bulbs that may have been planted in the garden 20 years ago. According to the BC archives website, the college has a community garden legacy dating back to the late 1970s.
Bauzil described the significance of having the BC garden space open to students as well as the surrounding neighborhood.
“I know especially for folks who do live in the buildings, this is kind of their green space. Like folks hang out here, they bring their kids here, they’re also like growing food for their families here, where if you live in a building you know you can’t do that,” she said.
Using plants and various garden tools, Chan displayed still life scenes on tables in the garden. Participants then used charcoal to sketch what they saw.
Like most community gardens in New York, sounds of traffic and helicopters mixed with the sounds of nature. Mourning doves perched above the new artist working in the garden. Chan also played instrumental music for people to listen to as they drew.
As an environmental science student at BC, it was Valeri Zapeta’s first time visiting the garden.
“The air and the sun is really calming for me, and it just feels very nice,” she said. “It makes me feel really happy, especially since winter’s over.”
Others, like Dominique Gagne, have been involved in the garden but experienced it in a new way during the event.
“It’s just a different way to experience the garden, because I’m usually here, like, weeding and picking tomatoes and stuff. And it’s really a nice way to build community,” said Gagne. She is a musician who lives a few blocks away from campus.
Chan has planned and created a curriculum for five art workshops. She encourages students to engage with the garden and create within the outdoor space.
“I think that, like, being able to mingle with community gardeners who live in this neighborhood seems like a very rare experience for college students,” Chan said. “I went to UCLA, so like way far away, but I feel like I could have benefited a lot from meeting community members as a student.”
Nana Santini, a senior at BC studying art and education, described how the lesson felt different from a classroom experience.
“It’s actually just really nice to just be outside and draw,” she said. “And like, I took a drawing class [at BC] and we did still lives, and I kind of just fell in love with the academic process of it. But, being out here in the garden space, it’s more loose and has more freedom. It’s not so strict. You’re not in a classroom setting. You’re just outside chilling with some people, enjoying the sun.”
Lindsey Weiss, a community member who will have a garden plot this year, enjoyed the experience of slowing down to create something new.
“I think it’s so nice to stop and do an activity, especially an activity that is not just working or consuming,” Weiss said. “That there are so many possible ways to engage with nature and with the neighborhood.”
As a community member, Weiss described how she has seen new life breathed into the garden.
“I know that the garden has been really revived in the last couple years, and so much of that has been led by Yarnell, and the more investment put in the garden, the more people want to come work in the garden and the better it becomes,” Weiss said.
Bauzil shared many ways students can become involved with the garden, and said they are welcome to visit the space during open hours every weekday from 10 am to 4 pm.
“You can come have lunch here, you can come hang out here, just don’t eat anyone’s fruit or [vegetables] please,” she said.
There are also upcoming volunteering opportunities in the garden, and if students want to garden in their own plot, they are eligible to apply.
“We would love to see more student events in this space. It’s a huge space. And I would love to see it utilized in all different kinds of ways, but it’s really the campus’ garden, and the garden is kind of the bridge between community life and campus life,” Bauzil said.