ROTM’s Raised Bed Program Provides Residents With a Way to Garden in the City

Special to the Journal

There are city people and there are country people. Those who thrive from the fast-paced metropolitan lifestyle surrounded by crowds of people pouring into the busy streets. Then there are those who opt for a more serene life, away from the densely populated areas, and instead, bask in all that nature has to offer. For those who can’t decide between the two extremes, urban farming is a happy medium.

The City of Revere offers the best of both worlds; with close proximity to Boston, residents can participate in the lively city, and through Revere on the Move’s (ROTM) Raised Bed Program, they are able to grow fresh produce right from their yard. In partnership with Revere CARES and the Police Activity League, 20 residents are given raised beds and soil to grow their own crops. Angela Walsh is one of the first residents to participate in this new program and encourages others to join as well.

Growing up in North Carolina and Virginia, Angela lived on a farm and began gardening when she was around eight years old. Ever since then she has continued to grow her own crops as it brings her peace. Years later after moving to Massachusetts, starting a family, and becoming an accountant, Angela still has a passion for farming but felt that she “didn’t have a really big yard,” to do this in. Luckily for her, a year after moving to Revere, she saw that Revere on the Move launched a raised bed pilot program and jumped at the opportunity.

Angela enjoys growing her own crops as it is an activity she and her daughter are able to do together, but also because she is able to “cut down on carbon footprint and know what is going into my food.”

“It’s given me encouragement that I am not just in a city because when you think about a city you don’t think about grass, green, and people who think about the environment. It just solidified why I moved to Revere.”

When asked what advice she would give to others who are interested, Angela said to “go for it,” and reach out to Vivianna Cataño, the program and communications manager for Revere CARES. “It might seem overwhelming but it’s not, they make it easy.”

Though Angela moved away from the south and life on a farm, she did not have to compromise between gardening and her love for nature with her newfound love with city life, and neither should you.