Cleveland community garden revitalizes Blythe-Oldfield neighborhood
Photo by John David Clark
A couple years ago, a group of visionaries in Cleveland was searching for ways to improve the neighborhood. They decided to plant a community garden, and it has led to a healthier and more social community.
However, they recognize there is still more work to be done.
Residents, churches, businesses and organizations in the Blythe-Oldfield area had a vision for their residence. To bring this vision to fruition, concerned neighbors joined together with a mission to improve the area where they lived and worked. Blythe-Oldfield Community Organization (BOCA) was established and has partnered with the Cleveland nonprofit City Fields to bring holistic development to their community.
One of the organization’s earliest projects, launched in 2015, is the community garden nestled on 13th Street SE. Executive director of City Fields Dustin Tommey said his organization recognized the vision of BOCA and wanted to extend a helping hand.
“We did a lot of listening to the neighborhood in 2014, trying to understand what the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, the threats… of the community were,” Tommey said.
This conversation revealed a need for revitalization. According to the City Fields website, there are five main fields of influence for this organization. Two of them are physical and social revitalization. When a need was revealed in these areas through dialogue, the organization devised a plan.
Through communication with members of the Blythe-Oldfield community, BOCA was able to begin the process of eliminating physical and social weaknesses while seizing an opportunity to improve those areas.
According to City Fields, the Blythe-Oldfield residents show incredible compassion, devotion and capability. Blythe-Oldfield is the first Cleveland community that City Fields has partnered with. They are continuously working to improve the efficiency of their projects.
“We love to dream big, but we also like to not over-promise and under-deliver,” Tommey said. “We would like to see every year for there to be faithful, consistent use of the garden and that it gets a little bit better every year.”
For the past three years, the organizations have worked to perfect a plan for optimum efficiency for the garden. Their system has been maintained through donations, financial planning and community involvement.
According to Tommey, City Fields acquired the land for the garden from a church in the area. Four grants were given to purchase all materials necessary for a thriving garden.
To maintain that garden, he said they rent out half of the beds. The other half are community beds and are free for the Blythe-Oldfield residents. In turn, the money raised from renting beds provides the necessary capital to pay the water bill for the entire garden. Also, the neighborhood holds an annual chili cook-off to raise funds for the garden.
One area in which BOCA seeks improvement is involvement. Special projects manager Jake Stum said that one way to get better is to have people from every area in Cleveland.
Stum said he encourages Lee students to share in the mission of BOCA and City Fields. He said student involvement would fulfill a need, and they would also gain knowledge and skills from the residents. He explained that being informed of Cleveland’s needs is vital.
"We have one of the most low-income census tracts in our entire state here in Cleveland,” Stum said. “I believe that understanding the working poor who are at the backdoor of campus could be a great start.”
To learn more about BOCA, City Fields and their projects, visit the City Fields website or contact their office at (423) 472-9876 and rusty@cityfieldscdc.com.
