Community Garden Spotlight

Flanders Community Garden

As part of her “A Greener Southampton” program, Councilwoman Christine Scalera spearheaded a community garden initiative in the spring of 2014 at the David W Crohan Community Center in Flanders. The efforts behind the community garden consist of promoting healthier eating habits, exercise, environmental care and community cooperation by maintaining the gardens.

“Along with promoting healthy eating choices, one of my goals with this project was to integrate the community gardens into the town's parks, youth, and senior services programs, with an eye toward promoting intergenerational interaction, with the garden as a focal point,” said Councilwoman Scalera

The garden currently has eight raised beds that will be sustained by several individuals and groups throughout the community. Council members Christine Scalera and Brad Bender, Southampton Town Senior Services, Southampton Town Youth Bureau, FRNCA, Flanders CAC, Flanders Fire Department, Bayview Pines, Waters Edge, Civic Association and local residents sponsor each bed and tend to the garden.

Councilwoman Scalera met with Cornell Cooperative Extension in 2013 to discuss what it would take to get a project like this off the ground and recruited them to assist with the project in the Flanders. The garden collaboration is with the Family Health and Wellness Program area of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County with funding from the New York State Department of Health to implement Creating Healthy Places in Suffolk County.

“We are very excited to be working with Councilwoman Scalera and the Flanders, Riverside, Northampton communities on this project,” said Susan Wilk, Project Coordinator, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, “programs like ours across the State are working in collaborations with local governments and community members to create healthy places in communities and implement projects that will make it easier for community members to be physically active and eat healthy foods. Community gardens are a perfect opportunity for physical activity and an excellent source of nutrition and enjoyment of a wide assortment of garden fresh produce.”

The Community Garden will be donating a quarter of its produce to a local food pantry. The rest of the produce will be for volunteers. For more information about the Flanders community garden, please contact Councilwoman Scalera at 631-287-5745.