Revere on the Move Community Spotlight

Baggett lives the best of both worlds with ROTM’scommunity garden program

A converted beach house with “zero yard” isn’t necessarily the type of home you’d think a gardener would live in, but let Brittany Baggett, a Revere resident of two years prove you wrong. You might assume making the move from having a half an acre of land filled with fruits and vegetables and yard space for her dog to virtually no greenery in her new house in the city would be a challenging adjustment, but the community garden was an efficient solution for her. Now she beams about living in a city near the beach, while also having some green space of her own.

Hearing about the opportunity to gain a plot in the community garden through Facebook, Brittany optimistically put her name into the lottery. Working for the school system, her summers are slow, and that combined with being within walking distance of the community garden, it made perfect sense for her to want to join this exuberant program. Her name was picked, and with that came the chance to form meaningful relationships with her neighbors while simultaneously growing healthy food for herself.

Brittany does not call herself an expert gardener, and that’s the beauty of this program. “I like to learn as I go so this has been a great opportunity for me to do that” responds Brittany as she shows off her summer squash, pea plants, and cucumbers. Her neighbors have been essential throughout this experience. She proudly mentions her neighbor Jim, who taught her everything she needed to know about growing tomatoes; a skill he himself learned while traveling in Italy. Her neighbor Nancy, possessing more gardening experience, has helped her all summer, a process that Brittany warmfully claims has made them grow closer together. The community garden has allowed Brittany to bond with members of her neighborhood, who all “jump” at the opportunity to assist each other with their gardens and take care of each other’s plots when someone is away. Brittany describes the environment as friendly, welcoming, and an area without any judgement.

Brittany’s weekend morning routine consists of grabbing coffee at home and making the nice walk to her garden, and she expresses how much of a fine hobby this can be for many other residents. Worried about the behind the scenes details? Don’t be. “Guidelines are super simple,” she explains. Brittany emphasizes how great communication is between everyone, and how superb the garden organizers have been.

This program is not limited to adults, kids have been gaining so much from the gardening experience as well. One of Brittany’s neighbors has a two-year-old daughter who accompanies Brittany on her walks to the garden so they can water the plants together. “It teaches them about sustainability,” Brittany proudly shares, while also cheerfully stating that “Lilah picked out the purple basil.” A heartwarming activity that parents can enjoy with their children, and that neighbors of all ages can enjoy with one another. The community garden is making waves in its effort to grow a sense of community within Revere.

Revere on the Move (ROTM) is a community-led collaboration between the City of Revere and the Revere CARES Coalition. ROTM works locally to increase opportunities for Revere residents to eat better and move more in the places they live, learn, work, and play. ROTM works to support the implementation of Community Gardens, Access to Farmer’s Markets, Urban Farming, Place-Making, and Mini-Grant initiatives making the healthy choice the easy choice for Revere residents. To learn more about Revere on the Move visit us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/revereonthemove.

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