By Gretchen Webster
WESTPORT — Westport community gardeners were angry, but not surprised, when the Long Lots Building Committee last Thursday recommended a plan to construct a new Long Lots Elementary School that will place an athletic field where their gardens now grow.
“We find it disappointing, discouraging and disgusting —that they are willing to take ballfields and put them over a nationally recognized 20-year-old natural asset,” Louis Winberg, the community gardens president, said after the meeting.
Westport Community Gardens, where about 120 Westporters till the soil on a site adjacent to the Hyde Lane school, was honored with a sustainability award for “environmental stewardship” by the American Community Garden Association last month.
Weinberg said he did not attend last week’s LLBC meeting because he found the prospect of seeing the committee vote to move the gardens — tantamount to destroying them, the gardeners say — to be too difficult.
“Covering the community garden with a ballfield goes against every principle any reasonable human being would come up with. Why can’t they find an area for another ballfield in town? Something doesn’t add up,” Weinberg said.
The committee selected “Option C” from among six scenarios, which ranged from renovating the seven-decade-old Long Lots to building an entirely new structure positioned on various parts of the campus to accommodate other amenities.
Option C, which calls for placing an athletic field where the gardens are located and moving the gardens, would cost between $92.1 million to $98.2 million, depending on sustainability options. The plan calls for the gardens to remain on the Hyde Lane property, but relocated west of their existing site after construction is completed.
The committee did take note of the gardeners’ comments and concerns, Donald O’Day, a Long Lots Building Committee member, said Friday. But even if the gardens were to remain where they are now, they would be dug up and destroyed, as will the existing ballfield, to make way for construction of the new school over the next two years, he said.
“Reasonable people can disagree on the choice; the bigger issue is that this entire campus — the baseball field and the gardens — are going to be a major construction zone for two years. Everything will be shut down. The best bet for the gardeners will be a move to Baron’s South. That way there is no loss of a gardening season,” O Day said. “That’s the reality — it’s not a happy reality.”
There are currently no plans to relocate the community gardens elsewhere, including town-owned Baron’s South property, a 22-acre open space property off Compo Road South.
Laureen Haynes, a community gardens member and owner of The Chocolatieree chocolate shop on Church Lane, said that O’Day “stepped outside his lane” recommending the Baron’s South property as a new garden site. That property instead should be used for new athletic fields, she said, adding that Parks and Recreation Director Jennifer Fava should be the one “recommending adding a turf field if funds are there,” not O’Day.
“I hold hope that we can all grow together with a new amazing school … beautiful community gardens that continue to thrive … and find a more fitting location for a full-service field,” Haynes said.
Both O’Day and Weinberg noted the Long Lots Elementary School construction plans still must be reviewed and approved by a series of town boards, including the Planning and Zoning Commission, Board of Finance, Representative Town Meeting and Board of Selectwomen. That process will give the public on all sides of the issue plenty of opportunities to comment.
“The garden will be destroyed, how does that make sense?” Weinberg said. “Where has [First Selectwoman] Jen Tooker been on any of this — she has not uttered a word. Her silence speaks volumes.”
Tooker said Friday that she expects to release a statement on the Long Lots Building Committee decision this week.
“Once I receive the official recommendation from the Long Lots Elementary School Building Committee and have the opportunity to fully examine and review it, I will release a statement,” she said.
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.
Just to clarify, the LLSBC revealed Ms. Fava’s interest in converting a field to artificial turf “if funds were there.’ The irony of it all talking about the cost to save the gardens and its natural green space and to then ask to spend tax dollars to install an artificial turf?
Separately, I’m not sure the best location for a full service ball field, Town members continue to offer lots of suggestions and am hopeful we get to a win-win solution for all as this project evolves through the process.
What is as disturbing as the decision to replace the Gardens with a ball field is the way in which that decision was reached; by refusing to include the Gardeners in the planning process and limiting their ability to speak at meetings. The administration, LLSBC and Parks & Rec Commission were all complicit in this rush to judgment the outcome of which was predictable from the start.
This charade makes a mockery of due process and should be a matter of concern for every Westporter
Yes, this is no longer about a garden. Just as the Parker Harding process is no longer about a parking lot. Due process, transparency, the lack of accountability and the lack of listening to ALL impacted parties. What a sham.
Finally the voice of reason ! Between the gardens issue the Linxweiler famiIn ly and the Hiawatha Ln residents being forced to hire their own lawyers to fight a town attorney who should be their advocate rather than their opponent the blatant disregard for the environment public health and safety and paralyzing traffic at 122 Wilton we need to take back control. Impeach every official not up for re elections and vote in only replacements who represent our interests.
I wish someone in power would have the courage to outright state the obvious: Westport Town Government has decided a new artificial turf baseball field is more important than the Community Garden. Why? Because Westport Baseball is a more powerful voice in the current administration.
The bureaucratic and over-lawyered language is insulting and indicates a lack of respect for the Westport citizenry. All in a piece with the vote last week by the RTM 29 to take away our right to petition our government for redress of grievances.
Yes, it is a sham of democracy. They had made their minds up from the get go.
I’m not angry; I am sad and heartbroken. It is not anger, it is grief over the exclusionary practices of our town government, the assault on Mother Earth, and yes, loss of the Community Gardens. It is a loss– complete destruction — Ms. Tooker, though I know you will issue a statement that says nothing is being destroyed.
I will try to shake it off as I point out that it has been said repeatedly that the Committee was going to “replace existing” components to the Long Lots “campus.”
Please take a walk today to look at the existing campus. Especially the baseball field. Are there any of there following there today?
Baseball field with perimeter fence
Dugouts
Bull pen
Battingcage
Two sets of fan bleachers
Clay infield
Turf infield and outfield
Pitchers mound and foul poles
Scoreboard
At a cost $423K to replace the existing ball field?
Now go take a look at the Community gardens and preserve. How do you put a price on what is in that garden … built over 20 years with our own hands, at our own expense. Look around at all the details, the perennial plantings, the garden structures. Now look at the $40K of native plants installed around the perimeter of the community gardens — donated funds and thousands of hours of donated labor. The town puts a $250K value on this PRICELESS TREASURE.
We look forward to the Selectwomen’s choice of euphemisms on transparency and “the greater good,” and especially her rationale for this environmental slaughter and pork barrel appropriation. Just don’t say you are doing it for the Long Lots school kids; even they will know better.
Bleh.
What a complete and utter betrayal by this administration to Lou Weinberg, twenty-year Chairman of the Westport Community Garden/Preserves and all the gardeners who have poured love, sweat and money into a once neglected piece of land. I don’t hear many baseball players pleading for this parcel of land to play ball on. I don’t think the baseball community loses sleep over where they will play ball. The Garden is not part of the Long Lots Elementary School property, the students there don’t use it and other field locations have been offered up.
This Garden, full of life, is absolutely beloved by its members and its supporters. And this selfish LLSBC and maybe the First Selectwoman cruelly want to kill it – after twenty years of a labor of love turned it into a nationally recognized Community Garden. Just because they can do it, doesn’t make it ethical. No wonder trust in government has been eroded – all the way down to the local level. I left the meeting as soon as Don O’Day voted for Plan C. I can’t stomach that myopic, mean, merciless group.
Dear Westport Town Officials and Westport Residents:
I’m not sure facts matter anymore. But I’m going to offer some anyway.
Fact #1:
The proposed replacing of the 20 year old Westport Community Gardens and newly established Long Lots Preserve with a ballfield is part of the “Long Lots campus.”
The fact is that the gardens and preserve are not on the Long Lots campus. The “Long Lots campus” is a newly coined phrase that came from the Long Lots School Building Committee.
Yes, this is all on town on land.
However, from the Town Attorney’s office, in a communication to myself and Parks And Recreation (including Director Jennifer Fava) dated Friday, March 18, 2022, it is stated…
“In 2001, the town acquired the 6.5 acre Yager property, a former commercial greenhouse operation, which is now the 4.3 acres at issue plus the adjacent 2.2 acre parking lot. Based on my review of the memos, minutes, and P&Z resolutions regarding the acquisition and development of the property, it is my opinion that the Board of Education has control of the 2.2 acre parking lot for school purposes, but that the 4.3 acres containing the Community Gardens are under the control of the Town. Connecticut general statutes section 10–220(a) provides that Boards of Education “shall have the care, maintenance and operation of buildings, land, apparatus, and any other property used for school purposes.” Because the 4.3 acre portion that includes the Westport Community Gardens is not used for school purposes, and in fact, has never been proposed by the Board of Education to be used for school purposes, it is my opinion that, other than the 2.2 acre parking lot, the remaining 4.3 acres of the former Jager property or not being used for school purposes, and remain under town control.”
Fact 2:
The proposed ballfield that will supplant Westport’s only Community Garden and Long Lots Preserve has nothing to do with the school at all.
The ballfield proposed, which covers the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve has nothing to do with satisfying the academic or physical education requirements of the Long Lots School students and was never requested by the Board of Education.
In the April 21, 2023 document “Elementary Educational Specifications for Long Lots Elementary School and Stepping Stones Preschool” drafted by the Board of Education and Westport Public Schools administration, it is stated that “Ideally, this play area for the school should be in close proximity to gymnasium and cafeteria for easy access. The early childhood play area should be near the kindergarten classrooms, depending on the design of the school and proximity to other classrooms.”
It goes on to state “Pre-K and K-1 play areas should be located in close proximity to their classrooms. Intermediate play areas should be located away from classroom areas, and in close proximity to the gymnasium and/or cafeteria.”
And, for safety purposes, and to protect the students, “Play fields, parking, service drives, drop off zones and bus zones should be located to reduce the cost of connecting elements without requiring pedestrians to cross vehicle or traffic lanes. The location of driveways, walkways and landscaping must permit adequate site distances for both vehicles and pedestrians.”
The proposed ballfield located over the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve is on the other side of the planned parking lot.
There is absolutely nothing in the Board Of Ed‘s request for a new school that includes putting a new, larger ballfield over the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve. The decision to do that was made, admittedly, by Jay Keenan, the Chair of the Long Lots, School Building Committee. It is unclear whether or not anyone else was involved in the decision to do this.
Just to underscore the fact that ball fields have a particular priority over other things – such as community gardens – I was struck by the fact as I drove past Green’s Farms School at 7:30 yesterday evening – a rainy Saturday – that the baseball field was fully lit and ready for use.
Does this strike anyone as a good use of taxpayer dollars?
Fact #3
The Westport Community Gardens and the Long Lots Preserve are an environmental oasis created over 20 years by the hard work of your friends and neighbors.
The property has been transformed from a neglected, garbage strewn, invasives-ridden town-owned parcel into an award-winning, nationally recognized, community building model of environmental stewardship.
To get a sense of the history and magnitude of the property, please click the following link on your computer. It is too small to be viewed on your phone.
https://www.shutterfly.com/share-product/?shareid=b913a396-6d33-41c0-99a2-b5f2941fd42b&cid=SHARPRDWEBMPRLNK
I sure hope that the 8-24 comes to P&Z prior to the BOF.
Sec. 8-2. Regulations. (a)(1) The zoning commission of each city, town or borough is authorized to regulate, within the limits of such municipality: (A) The height, number of stories and size of buildings and other structures; (B) the percentage of the area of the lot that may be occupied; (C) the size of yards, courts and other open spaces; (D) the density of population and the location and use of buildings, structures and land for trade, industry, residence or other purposes, including water-dependent uses, as defined in section 22a-93; and (E) the height, size, location, brightness and illumination of advertising signs and billboards, except as provided in subsection (f) of this section. etc……..
Fact #4
Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve have received unanimous Town approvals for 22 years.
Since First Selectwoman Diane Farrell’s administration purchased the town property (in year 2001) on which the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve thrive, the town has wholeheartedly supported this land use.
The original purchase, as noted by the Planning And Zoning Commission, was a top priority of the town as noted in the 1997 Town Plan of Conservation and Development.
In 2010, as demand for gardening space had gone from 30 to 60 to 90 families and the community gardens were bursting at the seams, First Selectmen Gordon Joseloff approved expansion of the Community Gardens.
In 2010, a report from the Planning and Zoning Commission states that “The Commission finds that the Community Gardens are a highly successful program, and as such recognizes that there is need for more plots within the gardens.”
The Commission goes on to state that “The Commission finds that the use of this site for the community garden, instead of the previous proposed use for athletic fields, remains in keeping with the 2007 Plan of Conservation Development.”
With regards to the highly successful Long Lots Preserve endeavor:
In May 2022, the current Board Of Selectwomen unanimously approved a 14-page Master Plan detailing the Long Lots Preserve project.
To her credit, current Second Selectwoman Andrea Moore recognized this as “the type of volunteerism which should be encouraged.”
In lending her support to get the Long Lots Preserve project approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission, she added “I think having Lou give a bit of background on the Westport Community Gardens, it’s history, and the impact on the community it has had would be helpful. Also, it’s quite a little complex they have there, so talking about how they’ve built what’s currently there (to the extent they did) would be positive in showing they can manage projects such as these. Last, I think, providing some background/info on the qualifications of people who will provide guidance on what to do/what to clear/how to do it is important. Shows that it’s not a bunch of weekend gardeners who will be making calls on invasive, taking down trees, etc.”
Regarding Mr. O’Day’s view that the Community Gardens should be relocated to Barons South, the site apparently proposed for that use by Parks & Rec happens to be the infamous Barons South Dump – a leveled off pile of so- called “dirty fill” which the town placed there in 2018 in flagrant violation of the approved site plan for the Senior Center expansion. The roughly 5,500 yards of fill contains concrete, asphalt, asbestos, glass, metal, plastic, stumps – as well as levels of arsenic and DDT which professional testing subsequently found exceeded DEEP industrial, commercial and residential exposure limits. The previous administration, after being caught, assured the RTM in 2019 that the toxic dump would be removed “in 60 days”. The pile is still there – unprotected and subject to runoff contamination, with no fence or even a warning sign. In light of the aforesaid, Mr. O’Day might possibly want to consider amending his view.
Morley’s right.
The better place to relocate the gardens, if indeed they must and can be relocated, is the area of Winslow Park along No. Compo Rd. which is presently being used as a construction staging area.
Fact #5
The Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve have deep roots in Westport and are a wonderful example of community engagement through volunteerism, philanthropy and remarkable in-kind services.
Philanthropy
Through the Grow-a-Row program, directed by Amy Unikewicz, the Westport Community Gardens have donated approximately 100 bags of fresh produce per year to those who are food insecure.
In a mutually beneficial relationship, the Westport Garden Club has utilized a plot at the Westport Community Gardens to grow plants for their annual sale. That sale raises money and enables the Westport Garden Cub to do the wonderful things that they do around town. In turn, the Westport Garden Club has donated plants to the Westport
Community Gardens and has raised money for the Long Lots Preserve.
The Westport Community Gardens has been promoting the awesome events at Wakeman Town Farm for years.
In-Kind Services and Donations
Throughout the development of the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve, partnerships were formed with:
Gault, Inc.
AJ Penna and Son Inc.
Gilbertie’s
Anthropologie
Earthplace
Aspatuck Land Trust
Audubon Of Connecticut
Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Southwest Conservation District
Sustainable Connecticut
SIR Development
Robbie Guimond
Bert’s Tree Service
Bartlett Tree Experts
Staples High School League of Boys
Eagle Scouts
Girl Scouts
Westport Garden Club
and
Hundreds of individuals who have donated $40,000 for the creation of the Long Lots Preserve
Volunteerism
In 20+ years, over 100,000 physical volunteer hours have gone into developing and creating the Westport Community Gardens.
Over and above the 100,000 physical volunteer hours, over 15,000 administrative hours of community time has gone into keeping the Westport Community Gardens running.
Approximately 30,000 emails have been sent managing the Westport Community Gardens.
Over 1,000 volunteer hours have gone into developing and creating the Long Lots Preserve.
Westport Community Gardeners have been maintaining Board Of Education property outside of the Gardens for over 15 years. There is a row of mature 80 foot trees between the gardens and Long Lots Elementary School that would be dead if it weren’t for the efforts of the Community Gardeners. Each year, the gardeners cut down the vines that would otherwise take over those trees. The vines would have covered and killed them by now.
The Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve teams have been doing the same on Parks and Recreation property where we are now establishing a Long Lots Preserve. Vines have been cut down that were choking off the native trees. Invasives have been eradicated and mountains of garbage have been removed.
And, of course, the Gardeners are generous with their crops, giving samples to whomever is passing by whether it be kids, adults, dog walkers, or the Westport Police Department, who we appreciate having a presence there.
Fact #6
The Westport Community Gardens are an invaluable outdoor passive recreational space for seniors.
A large percentage of the Westport Community Gardens membership is aged 60 or over.
Gardening has many benefits for seniors, including:
1. Relieving Stress – Gardening can be a relaxing and therapeutic activity that helps reduce stress levels.
2. Increasing serotonin levels – Exposure to sunlight while gardening can increase serotonin levels, which can help improve mood and reduce depression.
3. Boosting the immune system – Gardening can help boost the immune system by increasing exposure to beneficial bacteria in the soil.
4. Providing exercise – Gardening is a low-impact form of exercise that can help improve flexibility, strength and mobility.
5. Lowering the risk of dementia – Studies have shown that gardening can help lower the risk of dementia by keeping the brain active and engaged.
6. Strengthening mobility and coordination – Gardening requires a range of movements that can help improve mobility and coordination.
7. Increasing social interactions – Gardening can be a social activity that provides opportunities for interaction with other gardeners or community members.
8. Providing a sense of accomplishment – Gardening can provide a sense of accomplishment and pride in growing one’s own plants or produce.
9. Connecting seniors to the outdoors and nature – Gardening provides an opportunity to connect with nature and enjoy the outdoors.
AARP
https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2017/health-benefits-of-gardening-fd.html
Cleveland Clinic
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/benefits-of-gardening/
Cambridge University Press
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ageing-and-society/article/abs/exploring-the-health-and-wellbeing-benefits-of-gardening-for-older-adults/D146A47DC630AC0CA73BEB8264384A8A
Johns Hopkins Medicine
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/exercise-and-the-aging-person
Senior Living
https://www.seniorliving.org/life/activities/gardening/
Psychology Today
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/think-act-be/201906/10-mental-health-benefits-gardening
Good Housekeeping
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/wellness/a22109/health-benefits-gardening/
Don’t forget the beloved diversity, equity and inclusion boxes that always need to be checked in this town….or so they claim!. gardening truly is for everyone, .regardless of age, ability, background, religion or income
It checks all of the boxes.
I think the decision makers in this town are only concerned with soundbites. inviting public comment was just a sham of democracy. I believe the decision had been made from the get go
I wish to second Mr. Boyd’s comments and concerns about Mr. O’Day’s recommendation for the Gardeners to move their gardens to Barons South.
But it further needs to be noted that Mr. O’Day (one of the RTM 29), as well as the rest of the LLSBC were explicitly warned at their Sept 28th Hearing of this most recent history of toxic materials being left behind at Barons South. (instead of being properly hauled away to a hazardous waste management disposal sited as required so that the P&R Dept could save a $45,000 hazard mitigation charge.) As well as the larger history of the Barons two chemical laboratories that he had kept on site. I know that they were warned that night after the P&R Director presented her recommendation that the gardens be relocated to Barons South earlier that evening, because I was the one who warned them. Shocked by Ms. Fava’s recommendation for Barons South, I sought to alert them to this reality at that same hearing.
So Mr. O’Day has absolutely no excuse, whatsoever, to suggest that “The best bet for the gardeners will be a move to Baron’s South….That’s the reality.”
He knows better.
John F. Suggs
What do you say, Mr. Scarice? Certainly you have a voice in the matter.
I’ve spent numerous hours with my kids throwing batting practice, hitting ground balls and playing catch on the Long Lots baseball field so that field is very dear to my heart & has great memories. But not once when I went there was the field occupied. The 11,000 kids using the fields is just a diversionary tactic so not to focus on the specific usage of the long lots baseball field. Also, to say Westport Baseball & Softball uses the field is another diversionary tactic since Softball has never been played on that field. Another diversionary tactic is to say that Westport Baseball doesn’t know how many kids will be playing from year to year. They might not know the exact amount from year to year, but they certainly know that participation in baseball in this town has spiraled downward over the last 10 years & for numerous reasons is very unlikely to reverse itself. Now for the specifics pertaining to usage of the Long Lots baseball field, in the 7 months (April 1- October 31) there are 6 days where games were scheduled on that field & on every occasion one and most likely more than one of the other 3 baseball fields (Staples, Wakeman & Doubleday) were available. Another point not previously mentioned is that in each instance there was a game scheduled @ Long Lots it was against an out-of-town opponent who has their own fields to host the game. This means the ability to play a home game is a convenience for the players & parents & not out of necessity to avoid the game not being scheduled. Less home games don’t equate to less games played for the kids it’s just less games played in Westport.
Fact #7
The Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve are models of suburban open space environmental rehabilitation. Covering them with an artificial turf ballfield will kill the life in this open space.
As noted in the August 24, 2023 article in the New York Times, creating green spaces with densely planted native species is a way to protect and sustain environmental health.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/24/climate/tiny-forests-climate-miyawaki.html
This is exactly what we have done at the Long Lots Preserve, surrounding the Westport Community Gardens. The Gardens and Preserve are worth protecting. How great that we are on the cutting edge of creating spaces like this!
We are teaching our students in school about environmental stewardship and that taking care of the earth is an important value. It’s also embedded in the curriculum following Connecticut State Standards.
How do we reconcile that with taking these incredible environmental assets and covering them with an artificial turf ballfield? How do we reconcile telling our kids that the environment needs to be protected and then destroying it in front of them?
The Long Lots Preserve and Westport Community Gardens are a beacon for the organisms that depend on open space. They are absolutely brimming with life. The fireflies that kids love to catch, the butterflies, the moths, the bees, the resident in migratory birds, the red squirrels, the gray squirrels, the garter snakes, and other organisms that are the foundation of a healthy ecosystem, all use this property.
Both properties include native trees, shrubs and wildflowers. In the community gardens itself, there is Speckled Alder, Pussy Willow, Staghorn Sumac, Elderberry, St. John’s Wort, Cottonwood, a Monarch butterfly waystation and a wildflower garden planted by an Eagle Scout. There are thousands of wildflowers and perennials, which attract tens of thousands of pollinating native bees and honeybees, butterflies and moths and other insects every year.
In a year and a half, Long Lots Preserve volunteers have cleaned out invasives and planted natives in three of the four planned spaces. The only reason Phase 4 of the project is not completed is because we have been fighting for the survival of the gardens and the preserve.
For those of you that like this kind of thing, we have planted hundreds of native trees, shrubs and wildflowers, including:
Chestnut trees, northern Red oak, swamp white oak, Scarlet Oak, Pin oak, white pine, white spruce, eastern redbud, weeping redbud, shagbark hickory, sweet gum, American sycamore, tulip, Hackberry, Hawthorne, hornbeam, fringe, Serviceberry, river birch, red twig dogwood, gray twig dogwood, pussy willow, black willow, staghorn, sumac, cranberry viburnum, Arrowood viburnum, nannyberry, summersweet, Northern Bayberry, Bottlebrush, Buckeye, Elderberry, beauty berry, swamp sweet bells, American hazelnut, buttonbush, common Snowberry, speckled alder, witch hazel, sweetspire, spicebush, Winterberry, highbush blueberry, Beebalm, golden Alexander, mountain mint, northern bush honeysuckle, Common Milkweed, butterfly weed and aster.
Fairfield is celebrating the opening of its new pollinator park. Meanwhile, Westport prepares to destroy not only the 20 year old Westport community gardens, but the newly established Long Lots Preserve; which was funded ($40,000) and built by Westport residents on town land that had been neglected for decades. Hundreds of native trees and shrubs have been planted. The Preserve is not even two years old and is already absolutely buzzing with life. I would think that the Long Lots Preserve would be celebrated and protected in a town as progressive and green as Westport claims to be.
https://www.ctinsider.com/fairfield/article/yearround-pollinator-garden-fairfield-post-road-18389534.php
Haha…Westport? Progressive?!! Good one!
Mr. Keenan is a LEED certified architect (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) – architects who serve as ‘stewards of the built environment” and are all about “Sustainable Design”. But the joke is, he is recommending the destruction of a 20-year old Community Garden which was just awarded the winner of the “Sustainability” category by the American Community Gardening Association (ACGA).
It’s a bad joke that gets worse. Although the Garden/Preserves serve as a long term carbon sequestration thanks to 20 years of soil development and mature plantings, the LEED architect want to put a $423K Babe Ruth Baseball Field on it (itemized by Toni Simonetti) – AND- it was mentioned that Parks and Rec. have a wishlist that includes a turf field. Such fields can cost from $420K – $1.1MM.
And the LLSBC still hasn’t released the number of games played on the baseball field in question – near Long Lots Elementary School, but not part of school property or used by its students. Thanks to Peter Perry’s comments above (6 games played and on every occasion, more than one of the 3 other baseball fields were available), we know it’s low and does not justify destroying a town jewel. Oh, at one meeting, an LLSBC member did acknowledge that the Garden was a town jewel. But of course voted to destroy it for an underutilized baseball field.
And yes, the joke gets worse, as John Suggs noted, when Don O’Day says “The best bet for the gardeners will be a move to Baron’s South…Thats the reality” – while knowing full well of its toxicity – thanks to John Suggs’ public comments at a prior LLSBC meeting. As Morley Boyd noted, at Baron’s South, there is roughly 5,500 yards of fill containing concrete, asphalt, asbestos, glass, metal, plastic, stumps – as well as levels or arsenic and DDT exceeding DEEP industrial, commercial and residential exposure limits.
Jokes can always get worse. None of this was in the BOE scope for a new/refurb school with playgrounds and BOE Chairman, Lee Goldstein, was surprised to see a plan with a baseball field on top of the twenty year old Garden/Preserves. But, what the heck, Jay Keenan told Lee that he used his ‘judgement’ to expand out into Parks and Rec. territory. Meanwhile Parks and Rec was busy throwing the Garden/Preserve under the bus – or the baseball field in this instance – and our First Selectwoman never said a word.
The LLSBC’s disconnect between their mission to design a Sustainable school while destroying the Sustainability award winning Gardens/Preserves for an underutilized baseball field is mind boggling and hypocritical and their zero regard for Westport’s true ecological green gem is underscored by their suggestion to start over on a toxic landfill.
What a joke. You can’t make this up. These cold, calculated moves were made in a silo of secrecy back in September 2022. And our tax-dollars get to pay for it. A very bad joke indeed.
Fact #8
The Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve offer unlimited educational opportunities.
Westport has a remarkable educational system. With the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve, we can supplement that with hands-on, active learning. We have unique and treasured spaces for learning.
* Studies show that the education acquired through garden-based learning can increase students’ overall academic performance.
* Gardens have been proven to help students engage in learning, enhance test scores, and meet Core Curriculum Content Standards. (Please see citations below)
* Students who engage in school gardens show significant gains in overall grade point average, specifically in math and science.
* Teachers believe that implementing new learning styles can help students learn more effectively.
The academic, physical and mental health benefits from gardens and open space are significant and, in this case, are readily accessible. This includes:
MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH
No matter what the season, the garden is a magical oasis where students can go to decompress, think and relax. The gardeners can attest to its importance in both our mental and physical health and how it helps our own children unplug and enjoy the outdoors.
https:/www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/children/behavioral-problems-and-gardening.htm
2. SCIENCE: The Long Lots Preserve and the Westport Community Gardens hold a thousand science and STEM projects. Students can investigate, observe and learn about an incredible number of topics including the water cycle, nutrient cycles, life cycles, food chains, food webs, energy transfer, energy pyramids, ecological succession, predator-prey relationships, photosynthesis, geology, pollination, temperature, weather, soil, invasive vs. native plants, competition. population dynamics, carbon sequestering and forestry..
3. MATH: Gardens give students the opportunity to work with numbers, solve practical computation problems, and apply the practical study of garden geometry.
4. ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTALISM: From lessons in biodiversity, wildlife and plant life to the compost station as a visual lesson in the biodegradable breakdown of organic matter and the importance of waste management, the garden can instill ecological awareness and environmental literacy.
5. ART: The Gardens and Preserve provide limitless opportunities for students to engage in meaningful art exercises in a safe, healthy, creative and stimulating environment. They give students the opportunity to expand art knowledge and appreciation as they draw something found in or based on nature or natural surroundings.
6. HISTORY: Westport was once a home to a thriving onion farming industry. Connecticut’s agricultural roots date back to the crop gardens planted by its indigenous people who cultivated such staples as corn, beans, and squash, better known as the Three Sisters. The Gardens and Preserve are a springboard to local and agricultural history.
7. LITERATURE: From The Lorax to the Secret Garden to Peter Rabbit, the garden is a place where children’s books can come alive. The Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve present wonderful opportunities for inspirational reading and for objective and subjective writing exercises.
Supporting Resources:
TED TALK
https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DPGoPtkNFybk&data=05%7C01%7CIdalia.rodriguez%40arboradvisorygroup.com%7C8cb49910b61543305a3e08dbaba80406%7C8a515f2ffb224c41aa4434b35e38502b%7C0%7C0%7C638292512008239669%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=BV38Pngi4jYvdiJYMhqoTZexm92H2ZYi1yXiJhBaMUQ%3D&reserved=0
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Let It Grow
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/18/07/let-it-grow
UCLA
About School Gardens and Other Campus Green Spaces
https://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/garden.pdf
Rutgers University
Learning Through The Garden
https://njaes.rutgers.edu/fs1211/
University of Georgia
https://extension.uga.edu/programs-services/school-garden-resources/research-publications/academic-performance.html
US Department of Education
The Health Educator Article
Community Gardens: Interactions between Communities, Schools, and Impact on Students
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1196092.pdf
National Institute of Health
National Institute of Health – National Library of Medicine: School Green Space and It’s Impact on Academic Performance: A Systematic Literature Review
US Department of Agriculture
School Gardens: Using Gardens to Grow Healthy Habits in Cafeterias, Classrooms and Communities
https://www.fns.usda.gov/f2s/school-gardens
As soon as I heard about the LLSBC and its charge to review plans to build a new school for Long Lots, I’ve been chastised by jumping the gun and thinking that the Gardens was at risk. I am sad to say that my thinking has been confirmed with last week’s LLSBC recommendation. It saddens me to think that a 20 year town treasure can be demolished so quickly.
However, there are still many steps that need to be performed before the first shovel is placed in the ground. Hopefully, as new ideas and proposals are provided to the Board of Finance, to the RTM and other groups, they can be fully vetted and discussed in an open forum. Hopefully all LLSBC members who are on the RTM will recuse themselves from the final vote. I sincerely hope the current recommendation is reviewed for its building costs, garden relocation, etc. Based upon initial comments and review, I don’t think some of the garden relocation costs are grounded in reality. But to be quite honest, this was recommendation was never about the protection of the Gardens. It’s been shrouded with confusion and additional new studies to placate those who have raised concerns as the process has moved along. And if the ultimate goal has been to build a new elementary school and fulfill a fantasy that a new underused Babe Ruth baseball field is necessary, bravo.
Time and time again I have seen a barely used ballfield stay empty and silent. I’m not angry. I’m just saddened that so many voices have been trampled for the supposedly progress of a town. I ask that the neighbors who surround the new ball field raise their voices and explain what a new ballfield with lights will do to their lives. I just hope those who have experienced water issues when it rains that they explain to the town their concerns when the next heavy rains come along after this new school building and new ballfields come into existence. For rest assured, with global warming, those rains and floods will come.
I pass the torch to the next group of gardeners as I refuse to accept any fake gestures of a relocation and new start for a community gardens. The town will lose a Steven Chin and many like minded advocates for a sustainable Community Gardens that provides pollinators and an ecosystem that many communities would die for.
Fact #9
There are a significant number of town residents, organizations and businesses that support keeping the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve in place while building a new Long Lots Elementary School. At the beginning of our process to try and save the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve, we circulated a letter of support to organizations in town.
(See Letter of Support Below)
Letter of support signees
AJ Penna and Son
Vincent and Robin Penna
Owners
Sustainable Westport
Johanna Martell and Gately Ross Co-Chairs
Food Rescue US – Fairfield County
Haley Schulman
Co-Site Director
National Site Coordinator
Gilbertie’s Organics
Sal Gilbertie
Owner and President
Stop and Shop
Lemar Feliciano, Manager
Westport Garden Club
Ginger Donaher, President
Green’s Farms Garden Club
Izzo and Son Country Gardens
Bernard Izzo, Owner
Native LLC
Bill Kenny, Owner
Terrain
Lauren Aber, Manager
Earthplace
Tony McDowell, Director
Wakeman Town Farm
Board of Directors
Chef Michel Nischan
Wholesome Wave Foundation
Co-Founder/Chairman
Matt Storch
Owner, Match Burger Lobster
Owner, Saugatuck Provisions
Owner, Match Restaurant
Owner, Copps Island Oyster Shack
Connecticut Audubon
Joyce Leiz, Executive Director
Southwest Conservation District
Chris Sullivan, Executive Director
Regents Park Condominiums
Tom Bloch, Board President
Whitney Glenn Condominiums
Board of Directors
Harvest Commons Condominiums
Board of Directors
Aspetuck Land Trust
(Specific support for keeping the gardens and preserve)
David Brant, Executive Director
Save Westport Now
Ian Warburg, Co-Chair
Coalition for Westport
Ron Corwin, Chair
Ken Bernhard, Deputy Chair
Lawrence Weisman, Policy Chair
Robert Harrington – Westport Board Of Education
Staples High School Green Club
Logan Stollenwerk – President
Vinum Capital
Christopher Clanton
Robert Harrington – Westport Board Of Education (through public comment)
LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR PROTECTING THE WESTPORT COMMUNITY GARDENS AND LONG LOTS PRESERVE WHILE
CREATING A NEW AND IMPROVED LONG LOTS ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL
We, the undersigned, support the creation of a new and improved Long Lots Elementary School while preserving, in its current state, both the 20 year-old Westport Community Gardens (WCG)
and the newly created Long Lots Preserve (LLP). We recognize that the Town will be renovating or rebuilding the Long Lots Elementary School, which is obviously a project of great merit and value to Westport.
We also recognize that both the WCG and the LLP are legacy projects and town assets that improve the quality of life for town citizens and offer hands-on educational opportunities for students and families. Both are model land use assets, providing habitat for thriving pollinator
and wildlife populations, contributing significant value to our town biodiversity.
The Community Gardens provide generations of Westport families with the opportunity to grow fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers in a sustainable, peaceful and healthy environment.
The Preserve that surrounds it is a model suburban rehabilitation project, clearing out damaging non-native invasive species on neglected town land and restoring it as a native New England habitat. Both the WCG and LLP are town environmental gems which have been approved and supported by Town of Westport administrators and should be protected and preserved. We should have more spaces like these, not fewer.
We respectfully request that the Town decision-making bodies consider a school building alternative that keeps the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve in place while providing the best possible renovated or new Long Lots Elementary School.
It sickens me to know that this vote for Option C was unanimous.
How is it possible for all the LLSBC members to ignore the facts which have been presented by supporters of the Community Garden, and so well stated in the comments here by Lou Weinberg?
What kind of monsters are these LLSBC people? How can their consciences allow this destruction?
Have they had blinders on and not listened?
I have to say that this decision has made me lose respect for the prevailing culture in Westport,.
Shame on the LLSBC.
Let’s hope the next run of town committees and boards vote to leave the WGC where it is, intact, and renew Westporters’ trust in Goodness.
Board of Education Member –
Thanks to the LLBC for all their time and effort. None of this is personal. They have gone beyond their brief. They have over stepped. Additionally, they have failed to show the community of Westport that we can do both: build a new school at Long Lots AND keep the Westport Community Gardens in their current location.
The CMS Building Committee has a successful legacy and brought all sections of the Westport community along with them. Unfortunately, that is not the case with the current LLBC.
Just move the Community Gardens?
Shift them to a dump at Barons South?
Teach our kids that in 2023 this is the way to protect our local environment?
The way we treat a leader that had been a teacher for over 20 years?
Leave the Parks and Rev Department in control of the WGC when they have little respect for the community that use them?
Abandon the Long Lots Preserve ?
Exclude Sustainable Westport from the LLBC?
NO NO NO !
We need real leadership here. We MUST turn this around.
I am calling on the Selectwoman Jen Tooker, and the other Boards a Commissions in Westport (Including the Board that on) to push back on this recommendation. We can deliver a new school AND protect the WCG in their current location.
Let’s not hide behind the LLBC – you are elected to provide leadership for Westport.
Now is not the time to sit on the fence.
We have a new school to build with no delay – and a Community Garden to protect
Let’s show new vision by finding a new home for the ball field – ideally at Winslow Park.
Let’s put oversight of the Westport Community Gardens under a group that will protect its future forever!
Westport MUST do better. There is still time to turn this around,
I stand with Robert Harrington. It is time for all of us to come together and turn this around.
Now that the feasibility study process is, at last, finished it is time to finally stop this madness, thank the LLSBC for their service and hard work and get on with the business of doing what is right and just and, frankly, staring us all in the face. We must proceed with building a much needed school but not at the expense of our own better selves. The community garden and preserve represents everything that makes us who we are as a Town. For us to blindly follow this study’s misguided recommendation to destroy it and install an artificial turf ball field in its stead is the epitome of lunacy.
It reminds me of the same warped logic that came to perfectly capture the futility of the Vietnam War when an military officer famously reported: “It became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it.” But I am also reminded of what Senator Robert F. Kennedy said when he famously announced that he had under gone a metanoia, a change of mind, about the viability of that same war.
He said:
“I was involved in many of the early decisions on Vietnam, decisions that helped set us on our present path. It may be that the effort was doomed from the start: that it was never really possible to bring all the people of South Vietnam under the rule of the successive governments, we supported – governments, one after another, riddled with corruption, inefficiency, and greed; governments which did not, and could not successfully capture and energize the national feeling of their people. If that is the case, as it will may be, then, I am willing to bear my share of the responsibility, before history, and before my fellow citizens. But past error is no excuse for its own perpetuation. Tragedy is a tool for the living to gain wisdom, not a guide by which to live. Now, as ever, we do ourselves best justice, when we measure ourselves against ancient tests, as in the Antigone of Sophocles: “ All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only sin is pride.“
Let us all take a moment now to stop, yield and repair the evil. It is NOT necessary for us to destroy our national award winning community gardens in order to save them. Nor in order to build a much needed school or even a ball field. We can and shall find a way to have all three, in harmony with each other.
We just need to make the commitment to do it. Robert Harrington has made his proposal and I second it. We can turn this around. For as RFK reminded us in another metanoia moment “The only sin is pride.”
John F. Suggs
It’s crunch time so let’s stop playing nice & face the facts, Westport does NOT need another baseball field. It should no longer be part of any Long Lots School discussion.
In consideration of all the facts presented about athletic fields being under used, I find it odd that there haven’t been any comments explaining why we need a new field so badly.
Who, other than the LLBC, has said this is needed?
Are any parents with athletic children making their desire known?
Am I missing something here?
The Westport Board of Finance will visit Long Lots School. It’s a public meeting. Here is the posted notice:
BOARD OF FINANCE AND
LONG LOTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE NOTICE OF SITE VISIT
Sunday, October 15, 2023
9AM
The Board of Finance and the Long Lots Elementary School Building Committee will have a site visit to Long Lots Elementary School, 13 Hyde Lane, Westport, on Sunday, October 15, 2023 at 9AM.
Public meeting! Public is welcome.
To Selectwoman Tooker, PLEASE don’t bulldoze the native nature preserve and pollinator pathway community garden. We can come up with a more creative solution, one that retains the existing gardens and preserve, promotes sustainability, and teaches our kids that they too can be part of the solution.
This entire process has been shady to put it mildly. Plans for renovation were discussed and drafted behind closed doors for months prior to including the stakeholders who are truly invested in this land (and by sheer luck at that). This intentional exclusion and an unwillingness to collaborate, listen, or even slightly alter the committee’s original path makes it very clear that finding the best solution for the school was never the priority.
The easiest solution? Maybe. The solution that gives an extremely overweighted preference to a single sport played by some high schoolers (and largely sits empty and unused)? Most definitely. The plan that promotes ‘sustainability’ while taking actions that directly oppose that value? You bet it does.
This plan and process feel like something that would have happened in the 80’s or 90’s – bulldoze a nature preserve and community garden to make room for a gigantic turf baseball field. Decisions like that were more common back then BEFORE we knew better.
NOW we understand the environment impact of destroying beneficial green spaces like this. Now we know how important pollinators are for our survival. NOW we know the dangers of toxic turf fields and their complete lack of environmental benefits (except for a declining sport that was much more popular in the 90’s). NOW we know how clearing land increases the impact of flooding (we just watched 8 inches of rain fall in a matter of hours in NYC, these events are exacerbated by climate change and will only continue!). NOW we know all of these things, and we’ll do something about it, right?
PLEASE don’t make the same mistake we would have made decades ago. We’re smarter now, we know how the changes we make to our environment affect us and we need to think with the future in mind. Selectwoman Tooker, I implore you to direct the committee to update their plans to retain the existing nature preserve and community gardens and find somewhere else for a ball field if that’s entirely necessary (and please make it out of something less toxic than artificial turf).
In 2007, the Town of Westport commissioned a study by Weston & Sampson of Jesup Green and the Baron’s South property. The title of this report was Master Plan for Jesup Green and Baron’s South, September 2007.
The report contains an environmental review of Baron’s South. You will find the review in Section 3, on pages 14-18/99.
The history of the site’s use, its contamination, remediations and recommendations for more testing and remediation are specific in the report. The town should have a copy of this report in its files. I copy the conclusions below. (USTs are underground storage tanks):
3.1.5. Conclusions
Based on information reviewed in this preliminary evaluation, the Baron’s South property can be developed but will need to address the following environmental issues:
3⁄4 Future construction will need to account for the presence of USTs, possible soil impacts,
and groundwater contamination.
3⁄4 Site development activities will have to be conducted in a manner that complies with the
CT Remedial Standard Regulations.
3⁄4 The soil piles stored on site containing TPH should be removed and transported to a
licensed hazardous waste facility.
3⁄4 According to ERL, six potential areas of concern were identified, including seven USTs
associated with the site buildings, a self standing on-site chemical laboratory, a second
chemical laboratory located with one of the five residential buildings, a greenhouse, and
two on-site garages.
If Westport puts a community garden on Baron’s South, it will be the second contaminated site upon which it allowed residents to dig and grow plants to eat. The first site was 11/13 Hyde Lane.
For the November 2004 environmental review and Health Consultation by ATSDR of the present site of the gardens, see https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/longlots111804HC-CT/longlots111804HC-CT.pdf.
The Health Consultation also contained recommendations for safe use of the site before it was to be developed because of the known contamination and because the south part of the site and the groundwater were not completely characterized. My hope is that the town will now review these recommendations and implement them so that residents are safe to garden, eat the produce, to play upon the south part of the site.
That environmental report is dated. The USTs were dealt with and the various chemical hot spots have been abated. What’s new – and unaddressed – is the 5,500 yards of dirty fill contaminated with DDT and arsenic that the town illegally dumped in what had been a meadow in Barons South in 2018. That would appear to be the same site that Parks and Rec is now recommending for the Community Gardens.
Morley, the 2007 report itemizes various soil and groundwater contaminants as well as the presence of USTs.
It is important to comprehensively characterize the soil and groundwater and to verify that the sites on the southern part of 11/13 Hyde Lane and Baron’s south are safe to use at the current time because the contaminants identified in the previous environmental reviews are persistent and harmful to human health in low doses.
If there was additional remediation after 2004 and 2007 and there is ongoing environmental testing of the soil or water by the town or its consultants, it is important for that information to shared with town representatives and residents so they can make informed decisions about their health and safety.
This is particularly important because the intention, in the case of community gardens, is for residents to dig in the soil and to plant foods they will eat themselves and share with children. Children and fetuses are more vulnerable than adults to the harm of chemicals, metals and pesticides because children are smaller, they metabolize food more quickly and because their bodies are still developing.
Many of the residents who are gardening in community plots are very careful about the food and water they eat and drink. They plant with organic plants and seeds and use organic soil, for instance.
They do not want to plant on polluted soil and the town should make sure they will not be harmed because of the historical or recent contamination of the sites.
If soil containing hazardous materials has been shifted from one site in town to another, this should be reported to the Connecticut Department of Health and the CT DEEP. Fairfield’s recent and ongoing fill pile scandal, along with the arrests, the 2023 trial, the $11M and counting in remediation costs, and the distress and physical harm these posed to residents, serves as a local, recent example of what not to do, in the case of shifting soils from one site to another in order to bury the problem.
Patricia, agree on all points. I should have clarified that, while the old contamination issues in Barons South reflected in the 2007 report were professionally addressed, it’s the fact that the town re-contaminated the parcel in 2018 which ought to be of partcular concern. I say that because it would appear that Parks and Rec is literally proposing to relocate the community gardens to the actual 2018 dirty fill site itself.
As for reporting, been there, done that: CTDEEP, P&Z, Conservation, Building Dept, RTM (via petition). Nobody was ever reprimanded for illegally dumping the dirty fill and, despite the promise by the previous administration back in 2019 to remove the dump “in 60 days”, it’s obviously there to stay.
I’d drag the whole mess back to the RTM again via petition but it just voted two weeks ago to strip all residents of that right.
Good times.
Consider contacting Kevin Neary, South Western Remediation District Manager at CT DEEP. He may be able to advise you. His email address is kevin.neary@ct.gov. His phone number is 860.424.3947.
Consider also contacting Aspetuck Health District, the local health department. The office phone number is 203.227.9571. Speak to a Sanitarian. They may redirect you to CT DPH. If that is done, ask that your complaint be kept on file locally and get a specific contact name and phone number for the state health contact.
At the same time, report illegal dumping of hazardous soil to the local police department, if you have evidence or documents.
The illegal disposal of contaminated soil is inveestigated and remediated by CT DEEP and the health department and it is prosecuted under the law because it violates the law.
Connecticut’s Remediation Standard Regulations (RSRs) apply to the disposal of hazardous soil pursuant to Chapter 445 or 446k of the Connecticut General Statutes (CGS), or Section 22a-208a(c)(2) of the CGS.