Several years ago, I lived in a neighborhood that had a community garden. The land was owned by a neighborhood non-profit. Each spring, they would work with a group of 12-15 year old girls from low-income families and help them plant and cultivate whatever crops they wanted to grow. The girls would then sell their produce at a local farmers’ market and to local restaurants. So the garden was really a type of life-skills training course for the girls. They learned marketing and budgeting skills, how to run a small business, communication and writing skills (they published a small newletter each year), etc. It was a good program, but rather limited. The neighborhood was undergoing a period of revitalization with long-time lower-income families feeling threatened by the influx of higher-income families. The garden had great potential to bring everyone in the community together, tackling socio-economic fears and mistrust between the old and new residents in addition to the life-skills training it provided. Unfortunately, the garden wasn’t used for that purpose. I want to do better.