Boston’s Community Gardens are an urban oasis, a place where people of all walks of life come together to take care of the Earth and build connection to the land, their neighborhood, and themselves.

There are over 56 community gardens under Trustees management spanning eight neighborhoods in Boston. Trustees staff, including Gardens Property Manager Mukaji Ambila, and incredible volunteers like Karen Young, are key stewards of these special places, making them safe, welcoming, and fruitful. We caught up with the two of them this Women’s History Month to discuss the importance of community gardens in the City of Boston, and what it means to them to steward this land.

Q: What is the importance of having community gardens in Boston?

A (Mukaji): Our community gardens provide green space access for families in urban areas to enjoy, grow food, and bring community together in perpetuity. Access for all forever. Our principles of land stewardship, climate resilience, and equitable access apply directly to the Boston Community Gardens. Most of our gardens are in communities that qualify as food or green deserts, a majority of our gardens have created sustainable, community lead food systems in our most vulnerable neighborhoods for our most vulnerable neighbors.

Q: How do the diverse backgrounds of folks who steward our gardens impact them?

A (Mukaji): The diversity of our gardeners is what makes our gardens unique and culturally distinct. Our Garden Coordinators and BCG Team work very hard to connect with their neighbors by diversifying their seed orders, advocating for culturally aware growing structures, and celebrating each other’s differences by hosting events that amplify the difference cultures in each garden. Depending on the neighborhood, each garden has a very specific way it interacts with the community and each other. It’s something we are very proud of.

Q: As a steward of this land yourself, what does it mean to you to work with strong women leaders around the city?

A (Mukaji): As a land steward myself, and as a woman, who is black, and an immigrant seeing the strength, resiliency, and leadership of our women leaders is one of the most incredible experiences. The depth of compassion and care is they model is incomparable. Some of our garden coordinators have been here for 30 years, they have seen their communities change and have committed to being a guiding light for everyone around them. They create systems that are specific to their gardens, they cultivate deep long-lasting relationships, they work hard to connect with new neighbors, and are dedicated to learning new cultures, and are deeply committed to being a good neighbor, friend, and leader. I am deeply grateful and honored to be a part of their team.

The Trustees had spoken with Karen Young, a volunteer garden coordinator, a few years ago to understand her experience in the Boston Community Gardens, the video you see above. We caught up with her again, following continued dedicated service to her neighborhood and garden, to understand how the work she does continues to impact her and the community around her.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about who you are and the garden you care for?

A (Karen): I’m a Black woman, born in Boston and I have lived most of my life in Roxbury and the South End. I gardened in the Mission Hill Community Garden for 30 years. I used to live right up the street from the garden, before it became a garden. We all were so excited to have our own garden. It felt like home.

Q: What does it mean to you to be a caretaker of the land? Why is it important to you?

A (Karen): It means a lot to me. I’m a caretaker for land and people. I care for my mother, my daughter and the garden. I did that for 30 years. Today I caretake for plants. I’m proud to be a caretaker.

Q: What is the top thing folks should know about caring for a garden?

A (Karen): Be open. Stay open to always learning something. Always share. Share what you’re learning with others. Share what you’re growing with others. Ask for help if you need. It’s a community effort.

Q: How does caring for the gardens lend itself to the community?

A (Karen): It’s about growing food, but also, it’s about the people. I’ll always remember the gardening and the food, sometimes the flowers, but I remember the people the most.

Q: Anything else you’d like to share?

A (Karen): Gardening has always made me happy. I built a home there.