Yesterday, Save Westport Now — which describes itself as a 43-year-old grassroots organization dedicated to protecting residential neighborhoods, preserving Westport’s small-town New England appeal, ensuring smart growth, preventing over-commercialization, and preserving open space — e-mailed every member of the Board of Selectwomen, Board of Education, Long Lots School Building Committee, Board of Finance and Representative Town Meeting.
The subject: the possible relocation of the Westport Community Gardens, as part of the Long Lots renovation or rebuilding plan. Save Westport Now says:
As the Town mulls its options regarding the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve, we offer the following observations:
First, we believe that the Long Lots School Building Committee, appointed by First Selectwoman Jen Tooker, has inadvertently overstepped its authority in thinking that they have the unfettered right to determine the future of this cherished municipal asset.
We have reviewed the RTM minutes concerning the acquisition of this property and note that, although 2.2 acres were earmarked for additional school parking, the remaining 4.5 acres were acquired for other municipal purposes.
The Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve are just south of parking for Long Lots Elementary School (green), which is just south of the current building (yellow).
Indeed, in 2001 when the RTM was debating the acquisition, then-School Superintendent Elliot Landon assured the RTM that they would “work cooperatively and collaboratively” with the town to develop the parking in such a way that “it enhanced municipal uses as well.”
Thus, while it is true that playing fields (as well as affordable housing) were mentioned during the debate, the future use of that extra acreage was specifically left open.
Since then, of course, the property has been designated as a community garden and preserve and, for the last 20 or so years, the property has been under the supervision of Parks & Rec — 2 indisputable facts that buttress the argument that a school building committee does not have the unilateral authority to deal with this property.
Second, we note that removing these Gardens and the Preserve in favor of other uses runs counter to the Town’s Net Zero promise, as well as its most recent Plan of Conservation and Development, which explicitly calls for the preservation and enhancement of open space.
As the Plan recognizes: “Open space helps protect natural resources; provide flood storage, wildlife habitat, and tree canopy; enhance overall community appearance; and enhance the quality of life of residents and visitors.”
In fact, the town has long been concerned with this issue since Westport has
very little open space, especially compared to other towns in Fairfield County. If anything, we need to be creating more gardens, preserves, and open space — not less.
And third, we believe that equity and fairness dictate preservation of the Gardens and Preserve in their current locations.
Aerial view of the Westport Community Gardens, with 100-plus plots. The Long Lots Preserve is located on its perimeter.
While adding additional playing fields to our town’s inventory may be
desirable, the town currently has approximately 20 playing fields that can conceivably be made available during the 18- or 24-month construction period contemplated for the new school facility.
Alternatively, other temporary sites can be identified and used for sports during the construction period.
Once construction is complete, the town could then build new field(s) on the site of old building. There is, however, only one town garden, and it simply cannot be moved or replicated within that time frame — if at all.
Ditto for the Preserve.
In sum, the long-term pain for gardeners and the negative environmental ramifications for residents if the Gardens and Preserve are forced to vacate far outweigh the temporary sacrifice that sports teams may suffer if the Gardens and
Preserve are allowed to remain in place.
Finally, it is important to note that when the Long Lots School Building Committee was first proposed by the First Selectwoman, we and others voiced concern that the list of appointees did not include someone from Sustainable Westport.
Indeed, a number of RTM members objected to the formation of the Committee specifically on those grounds. They were adamant that SW needed to have a seat at the table — that SW needed to be involved at all stages of the project.
But the administration assured the RTM that the Committee had the necessary expertise to handle the project.
Recent events, however, have validated those concerns. The fact is that the Gardens and Preserve play a critical role in helping to sequester carbon and protect our pollinators.
Relaxing in the Westport Community Gardens.
Based on what we believe are a set of faulty assumptions and priorities, we are concerned that the Committee may make well-intended but misguided recommendations that result in the squandering of these important and critical assets.
And the idea that this will be “only” a temporary measure strikes us as short-sighted and failing to properly understand the value of what has been created here.
It took 20 years and almost 10,000 hours of volunteer labor to get the Gardens and Preserve to this point. They cannot be rebuilt overnight or easily replicated.
Please listen to the more than 1,800 people and organizations who have already signed petitions and letters, and act now to make the preservation of the Gardens and Preserve our highest priority when planning for the creation of what is sure to be a superb building where Westport’s children can continue to grow and learn.
Respectfully,
Ian Warburg
Co-chair, Save Westport Now
Westporters should insist that the Westport Community Gardens and the Long Lots Preserve remain exactly where they have been growing and flourishing for 20 years. Click on the video below to find out why we are so passionate about protecting these important environmental and educational town treasures.
Absolutely the Westport Community gardens and the Preserve should always remain and flourish along side a a new or refurbished Long Lots Elementary School where my sons and grandson attended.
Regards to all
Edward C Saenz
This entire fiasco fomented by our First Selectwoman under the cover of darkness using the building committee for “air cover” reminds me of the cruel joke about the difference between commitment and involvement with Bacon & Eggs – “The Chicken is involved but the Pig is committed…”
If I understand the preferred plan presently the new school would be built on the present playing fields and the garden is bulldozed to make way for new temporary fields. Then the fields are relocated to the site presently occupied by the existing structure and the gardens are gone forever. Candidly, what a silly and wrong headed idea.
As the joke goes – “the Fields are involved but the Gardens are committed…”
It’s shocking to me that our local government would behave in this heavy handed way with no consultation…stand up to this Westporters – this is not representative of who we are…
I know there are many forces at work here, and I hope all constituents and their voices will be heard. Only time will tell. I’ve been in the corporate world for far too many years and have seen many decisions made before the meeting has even started. Please let this not be the case here. There are choices out there where the Gardens, Preserve and Long Lots Elementary School can grow together. Please let this not be a charade and just a dog and pony show.
Thank you to Save Westport Now organization for lending their support to save Westport Community Gardens, which has been instrumental over the years in bringing “transparency” to town and government affairs. If you get a chance, see their accomplishments over the years. Amazing!
cant agree more. Another solution needs to be found and the gardens and preserves left in their current state.
The Westport Community Garden really is a wonderful, beautiful effort that has been nurtured for 20 years and is increasingly an oasis for all Westporters. I hope everyone can come see the magic that is going on at WCG!
Very well said Ian.
The gardens are so precious. Hugely important community asset we can all appreciate young and old, and a massive asset for the school to have right next door.
Interestingly enough I have read tens of comments on dans blog and on WJ, and I have yet to read a single one that says the gardens should be disturbed.
Gardens cannot be moved.
They can be destroyed and started again and it will take another 20 years for them to look as they look now.
That is unacceptable.
And to have to beg and plead to not destroy them is also unacceptable.
Houses can be moved( Serena and lily) and relocated, gardens cannot.
If this were a different situation and perhaps 20 years ago, that would have been the time to start the gardens elsewhere. Not now 20 years of sweat later.
If the town needs a spot for new ball fields might I suggest taking the imperial parking lot and turning it into a sports field.
Being a WCG member and having been involved with the issue at hand since it began, it is my view the LLBSC has a myopic attitude toward maintaining the WCG and Preserve in their current location. What rationally thinking person or persons wouldn’t use this as the starting point when giving direction and design guidelines to the architecture firm developing theLong Lots School master plan. Instead, it seems clear the LLBSC has given the architecture firm a blank sheet of paper to develop their design concepts. This being the case, it’s time for some new faces and fresh thinkers on the committees making important decisions on behalf of our great town.
Good Morning Ian. loved your article about community gardens. The SBC needs to consider more stories and small footprint for the school and not touch the gardens and work out a plan as if this land is off limits.
The WCG are indeed magic. Go and visit if you haven’t been, bring your kids and grandkids and let them experience the magic that years of committment to the land can create. We need to preserve and protect this beautiful sanctuary for all future generations.
Thank you, Ian Warburg, for expressing the facts of this issue so eloquently. As a native Westporter and long time Communuty Garden member, I share his opinions.
Please watch the video posted above by Marjorie Donalds, to see why we must protect and treasure our Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve.
Hi all to everyone here please FOIA the minutes of that meeting of the rtm at that time? But I will also say I supported sustainable Westport to be on this committee so ask other rtm members were they were ? From sal liccione rtm district 9 member
Thank you to Save Westport Now for making these points heard. The gardens and preserve benefit our town in so many ways—through the many volunteers’ environmental stewardship; as a valuable ecological haven; as both an active and passive outdoor space for residents of all ages; as an inclusive social and community-building center; and also altruistically through the produce that is donated to food insecure populations. We are hopeful that a solution can be found to build a first-class school while also preserving this site as is.
Thank you, Ian Warburg, and Save Westport Now for putting words to my exact feelings with regard to Westport Community Garden and Long Lots Preserve all growing together along with Long Lots Elementary School. Schools and children are very important to our community and so are the gardens and we only have one garden. The garden provides so much for so many and not keeping the gardens in their place is eliminating them! I hope that the people making our towns decisions come take a look at the garden and preserve to fully understand the precious asset that Westport has in both the gardens and the preserve. Most of America would be proud to have such a place in their community, we can have it all Westport!
Thank you Save Westport Now for this eloquent and thoughtful letter. As each day passes, and more information becomes available, my concern grows that community voices will be ignored. Please don’t let that happen: if anyone reading this has a part in the final decision, please do the right thing and save the Community Garden and Preserve.
Thank you to Save Westport Now for further endorsing protection of the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve.
We all want excellent schools for our Westport’s children, but there is no reason for a building (in a town full of them) or a playing field (in a town full of them) or a parking lot (in a town full of them) to be used as an excuse to destroy a singular treasure in Westport.
Two of our grandchildren will attend elementary school in Westport this Fall. Good schools (safe buildings, first-class teachers) are very important to us. Where in Westport the children’s sports fields are located is far less of a concern. As the Save Westport Now! piece mentioned, there are 20 playing fields around town that could conceivable be made available during Long Lots school construction. And as another commenter pointed out, there are other lightly-used town properties like the Imperial Avenue lot which could be re-purposed into sports fields. The Community Gardens and Preserve are Westport treasures which simply cannot be moved without destroying them. Why is that even being considered?
The Westport Community Garden is very much a town treasure that has been tended to and cared for the last 20 years. It is my hope and belief that an equitable solution can be found that keeps the Garden where it is currently located as well as building a new school.
The Westport Community day by day, year by year is moving away from what it use to hold as important. Houses are demolished everyday near the beach and the town allows mega mansions to be built – on small lot in their place- all for more tax dollars. This clearly impacts the shoreline and our beaches. The Playhouse is struggling to keep its doors open and the arts here are deteriorating, and now they want to take away a 20 year old community garden! The needs of children are important, but this town is puts too much emphasis on sports programs and playing fields! Westport is becoming a place where the needs of young families are being prioritized over those who have lived here for years. Young seniors and the elderly, along with the importance of the environment are quickly being sidelined.
Having attended meetings I was left with the impression that the decision to “move” the garden was the go to plan. The committee knows full well that it is not possible to just move the gardens without destroying the efforts of all the participants involved. There must be an alternative.
Thank you Ian for your thoughtful and well presented observations – I agree with you wholeheartedly. While improving Long Lots Elementary is important, the project should be approached with keeping the WCG and Long Lots Preserve as they are. These are unique and valuable town assets and are not movable or modifiable. To think they are is an insult to every gardener and conservationist. Years and years of community volunteerism and enthusiasm have gone into to creating these lovely treasures and they should be respected and protected.
Thank you to Save Westport and Ian Warburg for sharing your insight and getting the word out! The Westport Community Gardens and Preserve are environmental and educational treasures that most towns would celebrate, promote and protect. The Gardens and Preserve are an incredible example of suburban open space environmental rehabilitation. They are filled with native shrubs, trees, and wildlife in a town where those spaces are quickly diminishing. Westport needs MORE spaces like these, not less. Please everyone keep up the support, I’m sure we can find a way for the school and surrounding areas to grow together!
One set of stakeholders that seem to have been completely ignored are the flora and fauna that live in the gardens and Preserve. We’ve seen a resurgence of butterflies, lightening bugs, gold finches and other animals. The Gardens and Preserve have become an integral part of the Pollinator Pathway. We’ve planted hundreds of trees and bushes in the preserve including an experiment to reintroduce the American Chestnut Tree, all of which would be ripped out.
I have a few common sense questions and this is not intended to be sarcastic or hostile in any way.
1) How can moving a garden that has been developed over 20 years onto another parcel of land and then constructing playing fields on the space the gardens occupy make more sense than putting the new field on the land to where the gardens would be moved? Why not just leave the gardens and preserve where they’re currently located?
2) Why not use the existing fields behind Saugatuck Elementary where my kids used to play soccer?
3) Why not mow the open meadow at Winslow and create a temporary field in its place? The space is not used by dogs as the meadow is about 3’ high. A temporary parking lot could be constructed with cinder dust. When the new school is complete, let the field return to a meadow.
Lastly, to help those of you not familiar with the Gardens and Preserve, imagine hard hard you would push to stop a scenario where the town decided to remove a couple of holes in the Longshore golf course or tear up a dozen tennis courts to install a playing field? The Gardens took 10,000 volunteer hours to create, not including the time and money put into creating raised beds and amending soil specifically for the type of vegetables grown in those beds. Moving the Gardens and Preserve would be the same as eliminating it, practically speaking. This decision rests with Town Leadership – The Selectwomen’s office, P&Z, Parks & Rec, RTM, and the Board of Ed. Each of these individuals will play an import part of the decision in how best to serve all of the stakeholders in this discussion. I hope each of these bodies of decision makers understand the value of the Gardens and Preserve and understand the implications of a decision to move (effectively destroy) the gardens and preserve on the environment and our broader community.
Well said by everyone – not much more that I can add except that the fair and honorable thing to do would be to leave the Gardens and Preserve as they are.
Thank you Dan Woog. Thank you Ian Warburg and Save Westport Now for every word in your spot-on letter! Perhaps when the first idea of eliminating the Gardens/Preserve came to light, its majesty and its environmental, social and educational benefits were not fully appreciated. There is no excuse now after many letters to town officials, town hall meetings, 06880 Posts, Westport Journal articles and today, Save Westport Now’s well-crafted letter of support. Well, there is always more to learn – like did you know the Long Lots Preserve has re-introduced the American Chestnut tree? Did you know the Garden supports the Girl Scout and Eagle Scout Projects? Any town would be bragging about this asset instead of threatening to bulldoze it! And how do you square eliminating the Gardens/Preserves when we have a Partnership with Sustainable Westport whose mission is to ‘foster…and respect the finite capacity of the environment’? Let’s hope our First Selectwoman, Jen Tooker, has now grasped the beauty and benefits of the Gardens/Preserve and realizes the best road forward is for the LLE school and the Gardens/Preserves to grow together as they currently are. Anything less is frankly, not a good look, and will be remembered at the ballot box. Google “Westport Community Garden’s Flowpage” to learn more 🙂
Keep the gardens and preserve!!
Removing and relocating the garden is not an acceptable solution. People have spent countless hours nurturing this parcel for 20 Years…. The building Committee needs to yield to this request.
Thank you, Ian and Save Westport Now for your incisive posting on 06880. All you say is true. One way to maintain open space is to preserve the Community Gardens and its Reserve. Another simple solution was mentioned to me today by a concerned 93- year young non-gardening Westporter. He said he visited today to see what the noise was about and that it was outrageous to consider destroying this beautiful space. He is a retired engineer who knows the current building is structurally sound and could readily have a second story built upon it. He said it is normal fpr businesses to do so even as they continue to function on the lower floors. I hope the Building Committee considers this wise man’s suggestion. It would save money, the existing playing fields and the Westport Community Gardens and Reserve.
Thank you for this thoughtful and informative piece. I visited the Community Garden this weekend – what a treasure! Even to an untrained eye, this garden clearly cannot simply be moved or restarted elsewhere. I hope all involved in this decision will come to see what a benefit to our community this garden / preserve is and remember our Town’s Net Zero Promise and the Plan of Conservation and Development. We cannot keep putting these commitments aside and turning to them only when it is easy or convenient.
This couldn’t have been stated any clearer. The mandate to preserve and gardens in their present location is undeniable. Thank-you, Ian!
The easy solution is in plain sight as the piece highlights. With many sports fields all around Westport, schedule the sports that would have occurred on the long lots fields to other locations until the new school is built and existing torn down. There is one community garden and many existing sports fields. As a dad who once coached little league, I know first hand at how rescheduling worked, whether a result of a field in poor condition or scheduling make up games. The town of Westport is very helpful and thorough in its scheduling, re-scheduling, and efficiency with the calendar. It works easily and well.
Bulldozing the garden in order to not re-schedule some matches is a poor decision. I know from experience it’s easy and doable to temporarily use other fields. I hope the easy and thoughtful decision is made.
One of the most important sentences in this post is “We have reviewed the RTM minutes concerning the acquisition of this property……” Years ago (10?) as a cost cutting move, the RTM stopped keeping close to verbatim minutes in favor of sterile minutes with only actions recorded. The old way of doing minutes produced a beautiful record of exactly who said what. This is how Ian could go back into the online archives and do a meaningful, historically accurate review to see the RTM intent on this matter. Alas, to save a few bucks ( it wasn’t a lot) we now have a gaping hole in Westport’s history. Another loss for Transparency.
There are some great AI/Transcribing tools the town can get in order to go back to the “old” way of doing it.
Also found it to be a thoughtful, meaningful piece. Thank you! As a 10 yr WCG member, and a 24 yr resident, I like to think I have skin in the game. And as a pragmatist, try my best to see issues from many angles. There’s only one way a reasonable person can come down on this issue in my view. The gardens need to remain where they are. The project should proceed without impacting the Gardens and Reserve.
Please keep the gardens and reserve as they are. Are there any recourses (ie petitions, referenda) to a possible decision that goes against keeping it the way it is?
Thank you Save Westport Now and thank you to all the residents who believe Westport needs to remain focused on the environment while ensuring controlled development. Having lived here for more than 40 years with our children benefiting from a great school system, I am very concerned that Westport is evolving the wrong way. Westport is now a giant construction site with every bit of space turned into larger and larger buildings. Trees are being cut at an alarming rate. Those areas with trees still standing are now over populated with deers and other animals running out of space. Noise levels have become such that one cannot even have a pleasant time outside.
Yet the Community Garden remains a haven of peace and a model of what can be achieved to protect our environment when so many members of the community get together towards a common goal. Hopefully our Town Management will use good common sense to make the right decision to upgrade the school while maintaining in place the garden/preserve.
The more and more I drive around town among all the construction at every turn and every congested space in this town the more and more I find myself headed toward the garden for some peace and tranquillity.
Every available piece of property has been cleared for more houses and trees have no chance of survival against the multitude of builders. There are very few places you can find that atmosphere in town.
You certainly don’t get it at the beach or dog park. There is no open space to just appreciate nature. At some point we will not need a new school because folks will realize that the reason they moved here has been paved over for a shopping center or a parking lot or a baseball field and they will go in search of
That very thing that brought them here somewhere else.
The garden and preserve can not be relocated or re-built somewhere else it is a living organic thing you can’t just pluck it up and replant it somewhere else.
The town and its officials are well aware this is a fact and have to figure out some other way to modify or renovate the school and leave the garden as it has grown.
When we decided to move to Westport, I wrote and asked the Garden Club’s Membership rep to see if we could participate in the Community Garden. She was so welcoming. But I was blown away when I saw the garden: It is, truly, 5,000% nicer than any other community garden I’ve seen! That’s because we have rules about weeding, no pesticides, etc. And, boy, that soil we have been adding every single year, along with the pollinators, are bringing in some of the best veggies I’ve ever eaten. I did not know that lettuce could taste so delicious! Our grandchildren love to visit the Garden. I recently learned from a member of the Westport Garden Club that the soil and compost in our Garden is fighting carbon like crazy. Several of the private schools in this area have gardens as teaching tools. Wouldn’t it be fun to have the students at LL Elementary school visit with their teachers?!
Paddy what a gift for the school. Could not agree more with you.
I do not live in Westport now but still have spent half of my life there from afar. I graduated from Staples in ‘63 but continued to half ‘live’ there until my in-laws died 10 years ago.
I have seen and been part of the changes in Westport while doing the same in my own, beloved of 50 years, coastal town in the Eastern end of the state. A much smaller place but beginning the decline through population spread from New York and Boston right now.
All I can say is, SAVE YOUR TOWN!!!
I know it seems selfish!! IT IS!! But it has to be done. When you pave paradise, it takes hundreds of years to reclaim even after the jackhammers are done!!!
Over population has been our biggest blight on the world!! (Remember zero population growth in the 60s? That was the time of the root of ALL OF OUR CURRENT PROBLEMS AND NOW PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO CANCEL IT OUT AGAIN!! Bad choice!!) Nature is trying to clean us off of the skin of the planet with pandemic after pandemic. Please leave something for the survivors to remind themselves of what they could have in their future with planning and good choices. We lose it one small piece at a time!!
Thanks to Ian, SaveWestport Now, and Dan for continuing to highlight this.
As an individual Board of Education member I am highly supportive of a new Long Lots School. I feel strongly that Westport needs a new school, not a refurbished building. I am excited that we seem to be moving in that direction.
I think it is highly possible to achieve this outcome without the need to relocate the Westport Community Gardens.
I think the Westport Community Gardens says a lot about Westport values. They are a gem for our community and should not be touched.
I would not support any proposal that required the Community Gardens to be relocated and would be very vocal about any proposal that did.
From what I have seen so far I think we are in good hands with the current LLBC. In reality, I don’t expect them to propose moving or abandoning the Community Gardens and they come with a wealth of experience of upgrading our school buildings.
However, I do think we are wasting precious time even considering it. We should say that now, it should be ruled out, and we should move on.
I read your comments about the composition of the current LLBC. I think it is comprised of excellent community people.
I was vocal at the offset that the Board of Education itself is underrepresented on this committee and should have a vote. I also think that Sustainable Westport should have been given a seat at the table from the beginning.
I think someone from Sustainable Westport should be added to the LLBC immediately – and have a vote.
We have a once in a generation opportunity to get our approach to sustainability and renewable energy in this building right and send a loud signal to the rest of our community about sustainability and our values.
I am excited about the opportunity of having a brand new school on the Long Lots campus. It is long overdue. This should be a top priority. However, I am confident it is possible to deliver this priority and fully protect the Community Gardens at the same time.
This is SUCH an easy one….Protect the Westport Community Gardens.
Thank you for the great comment, Robert. Your vow to protect the Gardens is important.
I’m curious how anyone (else) on the BOE can feel that the BOE is underrepresented on the LLBC when the Committee is operating under the precise directive of the BOE? Even some of those not on the BOE seem to be on the Committee because they will be advocates for whatever the BOE wants.
The lack of representation of Parks & Rec, on a Committee that seems more than happy to claim as its own, land that has operated under the auspices of Parks & Rec for nearly two decades, seems especially odd to me.
I think that is why, to so many people in Town, there is a strong appearance that there was a desire to go down a certain path with Long Lots and those who might have had concerns about that path were intentionally kept from the process. It is why so many people think the lack of transparency is intentional. The Gardeners have been (effectively) criticized for not voicing their concerns sooner, but where have the detailed agendas and minutes from the Building Committee been, that would have made the Gardeners aware of the plans in the first place?
I attended one of the Building Committee meetings. The chairman was clear that they were fulfilling the directive of the BOE and that the alternatives that they were looking at would all impact the Gardens. I appreciated the honesty. But it was clear that the BOE’s directive did not account for the Gardens and Preserve being taken into account as being anything but Land.
Others on the Committee decried the public responding to untrue rumors about the plans to replace a 600-student school. But (over the length of the meeting) that school became a 687-student school, and then a 787-student school (with the planned addition of Stepping Stones). This drip-drip-drip of information seems designed to derail public input. And the claims of the public having misplaced outrage seemed, at best, disingenuous.
When everyone in Town seemed well aware of the efforts and expense from residents and local businesses in the latest work on Long Lots Preserve, just a few months ago, wouldn’t one think that anyone in either the First Selectwoman’s office, on the BOE, or the LLBC, would have shown the simple courtesy to pick up a phone or send an email to say, “because of our future planning for the schools, you might want to delay your work on the Preserve?” Either they were somehow oblivious to the work being done on the Land that they surveying, as it were, or they wanted to quietly go down their path without stirring up the people who might have conflicting interests. That isn’t transparency.
Thank you again for expressing your clear desire to protect the Community Gardens. I hope that my comments shed some light on why much of the public is expressing the concerns that they are right now – not just about the Gardens and the Preserve, but about the unfortunate process that has gotten us to this point.
If the school is dangerous, why are children still in it? Shouldn’t the parents be extremely upset by this?
Long Lots children could be accommodated throughout the other elementary schools, particularly Greens Farms and Coleytown, being the closest. The district did something similar when Coleytown Middle School had to be closed down.
If the children are no longer in Long Lots School, the new building could be put on the sports fields and after demolition of the current school, new playing fields could be put on the site of the old school. The parking lot would stay where it is. No need to demolish the community gardens either.
If the children have to stay in Long Lots during the building process, the new school could still be built on the current sports fields, whilst the children are bussed to any of the numerous sports fields around town.
I think the lack of transparency contributes to a lot of the lack of understanding of what is going on.
I mean, for one, you have the capacity issue – for what exactly is the BOE wanting the new Long Lots designed?
Secondly, a lot of people are saying that the plan is to build the new school and use the current LLES for Coleytown El students while a new Coleytown El is built.
Is that the plan? Does the general public know that’s the plan? Or is that the “just amongst us chickens” plan, that it is the plan and everyone when be told when they want to tell us.
Once again it is exciting to read that all of the comments are in agreement, “save the community gardens where they are” and “thank you Ian Warburg and SWN”. I was especially please to read BoE Member Robert Harrington’s commitment. Let us hope Robert is part of the majority on the BoE on this matter
Thank you Save Westport Now. There has to be a win-win solution. I know if the BoE, LLSBC, and other town officials really care about the gardens they will find a way to keep them intact. That’s the Westport spirit!
The Westport Community Gardens are not your average community gardens. They are a model for any other community, They are not fungible. The structures, mature perennials, and community have been built over 20 years of dedication and care.
How can we even consider destroying this incredible place?!
First I would like to thank Save Westport Now, and Dan Woog for their support in regard to the Westport Community Garden and Long Lots Preserve, a present dilemma facing us gardeners to save our beautiful piece of paradise located next to Long Lots Elementary School, which I think is unnecessary since both school and garden can coexist without creating a hardship on either side.
I’ve been gardening at the WCG for 10 years, however, I started my first garden on Evergreen Avenue back in the spring of 1963, and have been an avid gardener since, and that’s why I think a town like Westport needs a place like the Westport Community Garden and a good school system which is already known for; our two daughter attended Long Lots when it was a middle school and was going through a renovation.
The garden cannot be moved or paved over and returned to us a year or two later. The soil (not dirt like in ball fields) needs years of improvement to sustain healthy and tasty crops especially when grown organically.
I speak from experience: I am a master gardener, taught organic gardening at Westport and Fairfield continuing education, Norwalk Community College and at their Child Development Lab School. I was also the head Master Gardener at Bartlett Arboretum Veggie Garden in Stamford, consultant for Grace Farms Garden in New Canaan, worked with Northeast Organic Farming Association, the Ct Flower Show, Hartford and had hundreds of presentations for garden clubs, women clubs, libraries, land trusts and the likes throughout Fairfield and Westchester Counties. I also had my own television show (Organic Gardening with Nick Mancini) on Cablevision and I am the author of an organic gardening book. I also judged veggie contests at various granges.
Gardens are not like cars that can be moved from one parking lot to another, our garden has deep roots in the present location and needs to be honored instead of being destroyed.
A quote from Mahatma Gandhi: To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves.