GEORGETOWN, Mass. — The Conservation Commission unanimously voted last week to NOT clean up the majority of the overgrown decades-old, abandoned community garden, instead limiting the cleanup project to just the front area of the gardens (approximately 20% of the previously cultivated area).
At its prior meeting, following what could mildly be described as an extremely divisive discussion, only three out of the five present members voted to move forward with a proposed project by resident Alan Aulson, which would have removed all debris from the large, predominately long-abandoned areas.
The meeting was full of so much controversy that following the meeting, Aulson sent a letter to the commission stating that his family did not want to be the cause of negativity/divisiveness, and that if the conservation commission was not unanimous in support of cleaning up the mostly abandoned area (only about 14 out of 76 plots are being cultivated, the remainder are littered with old metal fencing, posts, wires, wire cages, tools, decaying plastic and landscape fabric and carpets, etc.), he and his family would simply bow-out. They wanted to help clean up the gardens, not cause nor step in the middle of controversy. He asked the commission to visit the gardens and consider giving their unanimous approval to a cleanup plan.
Last week, Aulson met again with the commission (via Zoom as the ConCom meets online only). After a lengthy discussion, the ConCom voted 4-0 to allow Aulson to proceed with a cleanup limited to just the front area of the gardens. (This time, three members were absent, including member Ida Wye who was previously the most vocal against the proposed cleanup plan, stating it had to be done “correctly.” Last year, Wye criticized the then chair of the commission for not telling Wye that Georgetown had community gardens. Wye had served for on the commission for more than two years at that time.)
Aulson, whose family owns Great Rock Farm and Goats-to-Go, is providing the manpower, “goat-power,” and equipment, at no cost to the town.
He noted how the gardens have an extensive amount of plastic, wire and overgrowth. The area, he wrote in his proposal, “has deteriorated – for whatever reason – over many, many years to the point where it needs a massive effort to restore it to its gardening purpose.” The current state of the gardens, he said, is “no longer usable by many newcomers and seniors, as the equipment required to restore even one small plot to garden usage is daunting.”
Aulson reached out to the American Legion, the Kiwanis, the Knights of Columbus and others who rallied to provide support to the project. At an open-house Aulson held at the gardens to show the work that the goats could environmentally accomplish so rapidly, the American Legion presented a check for $500 to purchase winter rye seeds (a cover-crop) for the gardens.
Aulson had presented the ConCom and board of selectmen with printed project summary including photos of a past nearly pristine garden (15+ year-old photos), as well as current photos. The contrast was startling: sumac trees eight feet tall have cropped up over the past decade, along with tangled overgrowth of bittersweet (heavy twisted vines), and general disarray.
Beneath the overgrowth, old metal fencing, posts, tools, raised beds, chairs, buckets, wire cages, and other debris sit. Aulson proposed to use his goats for a couple of weeks to clean up the bulk of the overgrowth, so that volunteers could get in to remove the abandoned metals and trash.
At their meeting, acting ConCom agent John Lopez questioned the cost of disposal of all the debris (estimated at more than a dumpster-full) and specifically said that if even one tire were removed from the gardens, it would cost to dispose of the tire. Lopez also argued against the gardens stating that it would be an administrative cost to run the gardens, and an expense to the highway department.
At least one ConCom member argued that certain invasive plants could spread across what was once a large corn field, if they were not properly treated.
In years long-gone-by, the gardens were managed by conservation agents and various garden volunteers who assigned lots and kept watch over the lots and took care of their cleanliness. Donations to offset the cost of water at the gardens were collected by the ConCom.
Aulson has scheduled a week of clearing starting Sept. 26 at 9:00 a.m. by volunteers. ♦
