Jamaica community garden gets funds to help grow

Paradise Community Garden in Jamaica is receiving a portion of $20,000 in grant money. Photo courtesy of Project Petals

By Rachel Vick

A new Jamaica community garden is getting help from a nonprofit to continue their work in the Southeast Queens community.

Paradise Community Garden, located at 107-29 Inwood St., is one of three green spaces to receive support from a Project Petals grant.

“Thank you to [Executive Director Alicia White] and the Project Petals team for helping us with volunteers, tools and the advice we needed to keep our garden open during the pandemic,” said community gardener Sonia Ferraro. “I was going to give up and was ready to throw in the towel on the garden. No one was giving us tools and resources. Then Alicia and Project Petals came, and our garden really got started. Now we are thriving because of their help."

The garden, which opened in January 2020, hosts family events and invites local residents in to share gardening knowledge, tips and the passion of growers.

They will use their share of grant funding for needs like gardening tools, soil, seeds, and other things they need to maintain the spaces. Funding will also support future gardening classes and events.

The New York nonprofit was founded in 2015 to support communities, and is distributing the $20,000 grant by Tom’s of Maine to provide volunteer community leaders with support they need to further their work.

White, who grew up in Queens, worked alongside Ferraro to boost outreach and shore up the garden’s foundations for a solid future in the community.

“Urban green spaces have an incredible impact on communities – providing space for physical activity, convening, and relaxing. They boost mental and physical health, community strength, and help combat climate change,” White said. “But it takes people and materials to create and sustain these spaces.”

“The grant will help us increase the amount of resources we will give to Paradise community garden. This will increase the amount of produce, learning to garden classes, and events Paradise community garden can have,” she added. “We are accepting new garden spaces throughout Queens and we want people to know that we are here.”