Today I learned about the existence of yet another local urban garden, the Pittsfield Westside Farm Project, in Pittsfield, MA. Here’s what the website says about it:

The Westside Community Garden Subcommittee is a volunteer group focused on providing sustainable, educational, and productive community gardens to Pittsfield’s Westside Neighborhood.

I’ve never seen the project first-hand, but I was intrigued when I got the following note from a local events listserv:

Westside Farm Project, a community garden in Pittsfield’s Westside Neighborhood, is looking for an intern to work 1-3 afternoons/ week at the garden. The garden is currently open Wednesdays from 3:30-5:30, but would like to add additional 2 hour sessions at other points during the week. Prospective interns should have prior experience with gardening and an interest/experience in working with children ages 3-12. The intern would be expected to perform basic garden maintenance (watering, weeding, harvesting, planting etc) while educating neighborhood children in organic gardening practices. Some training will be provided, but the intern will eventually be expected to run garden work sessions independently. The position is paid, and salary is negotiable.

If you’re interested, you can get in touch with Shawn Rumery using the contact info provided at the Westside Community Garden Subcommittee webpage.

News travels slow here in North Adams. At least, it does to me. I frequently find out about events long after they’ve happened, or learn of big changes on the eve of their occurrence, when months have passed and the voting and planning and finger-pointing has died down. So it made sense, in a way, that I hadn’t heard about the urban gardens of North Adams, one of which is sprouting up just a few steps from my own front door.

My news source? The Inside Storey, a blog kept by local business Storey Publishing. There, Deb Burns reports that a group called REACH for Community Health has hatched a plan to replace petunias with potatoes:

[S]ix or seven food gardens with tomatoes, peppers, and more will replace standard flower beds throughout downtown North Adams, with the mayor’s approval.

The vegetable gardens will belong to the community, Bob [Hoquette, a representative from REACH] said. What happens at harvest time? He shrugged. “We’ll see. If you’re hungry you can pick a tomato.”

My first thought, after Wow! That’s so cool!, was How timely. I’d just cracked open Food Not Lawns last night, and was feeling inspired and maybe just devilish enough to head out on a renegade mission to nestle zucchini plants among the weeds in some abandoned lots and forlorn corners of public parks. Of course, someone’s already beaten me to the punch — and legally, to boot.

Click through to The Inside Storey for, well, the full story (with pictures), and a quick and accurate portrait of the history of our weird little town.