By Gretchen Webster
WESTPORT — Artists showed growing support for the Westport Community Gardens on Saturday, where blooming flowers and ripening vegetables served as the backdrop for their art.
Some artists working in the open air were members of the Artists Collective of Westport, which co-sponsored “Art in the Garden” event with members of the community gardens, adjacent to Long Lots Elementary School on Hyde Lane.
The artists, along with other visitors, said they came to highlight the campaign by the gardeners to preserve the two-decade-old community plots, which may be claimed to accommodate future plans for the school.
The Long Lots Building Committee is considering several options to renovate or replace the elementary school, which could supplant part, or all, of the gardens for a new school building or relocated athletic field.
Controversy over the Long Lots project has swirled for weeks, but members of the building committee, which was established last September, insist no decision has been made on which of several options will be recommended. That decision, however, is expected to be made in a matter of weeks.
The community garden property includes not only individual plots, but also the Long Lots Preserve, a multi-acre space established in 2022 to weed out invasive plants and encourage the growth of native species.
“I think it’s terrible … they put 20 years into this place. You can’t move a garden this size,” said Ginny Awn, a member of the artists’ collective as she showed a small painting of the gardens she just completed. “Like everything else — if there’s open space they have to fill it.”
While plans for the school project take shape, community gardeners have organized a campaign to preserve the property, including hosting a market held last month to encourage visitors, posting an online petition and lobbying for their cause at town meetings.
Several town officials have also visited the gardens recently, including First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, members of the Long Lots Building Committee, and Danielle Dobin, chairwoman of the Planning and Zoning Commission, who toured the gardens Saturday.
“I only would hope that the building committee will present multiple options for a new Long Lots School, some of which will include keeping the garden where it is located, so we can engage everyone in a townwide conversation once we understand the options, costs and the values of our community,” she said.
On Saturday, artists used the gardens’ natural colors and contours to inspire their work.
“It’s irreplaceable; you can’t move it,” said Pat Duecy, shaded beneath a lavender hat, as she worked on pencil drawings. “It’s even an insult to consider it. They want another athletic field.”
Neighbor and artist JoAnn Davidson, painting a water color of greenery surrounding her, had a simple message of support: “I love it here, it’s beautiful. I hope they keep it.”
Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist and journalism teacher for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper for 10 years and teaches journalism at Southern Connecticut State University.
It was a great event! I had a lovely time painting sunflowers in the company of several monarch butterflies and a whole family of humming birds. I really enjoyed meeting both artists and gardeners in this beautiful place. It’s easy to see how a garden like this can inspire the inner artist in anyone – this kids especially were all smiles while recreating the colorful zinnias on paper! The students in the area are so lucky to have such a special place this close to them.
I was so sorry to have missed this event! How often do you get a chance to create art in a lovely place surrounded by Mother Nature’s art? The Community Gardens are truly a special place in Westport and one of the reasons I decided not to move away when I was considering it. After 20 years of hard work (and already being relocated several times), the idea that it could be moved again or demolished is insane (and frankly, moving it is really the same thing, as all of our hard work bringing in organic soil and/or working with soil for over 6 years so it became organic is no small detail! How can you move what is there now?)
The Community Gardens provide a stress-free environment for young and old alike, for finding peace, quiet, and solitude, but having a community to connect with right at your fingertips! Many Westporters who don’t have their own lawns or gardens (those in condos, apartments, retirement places) are grateful to have such a space, as are folks like me, who don’t have enough sun to grow sun-loving plants! Other towns occasionally have a community garden, often with fewer aspects that make it unique, such as the bluebird house, pollinator pathway, adjoining recently planted native plant preserve, or the additional fun community features that provide places for us to get to know one another, such as the Bocce court or the central gathering area, complete with beautiful grape arbor! However, it is doubtful that other towns have had to continually move their beloved community gardens… Please help us to keep ours by signing this petition! https://www.flowcode.com/page/westportcommunitygardens