Maddalena Polletta is the coordinator of the NYC's Children's Gardening Program at the Trust for Public Land. The main activities of TPL are building playgrounds at New York City schools and protecting community gardens throughout the city. In this article, Maddalena explains TPL's involvement with community gardens.

Q: What work does Trust for Public Land (TPL) do with community gardens in New York City?

A: Our work with community gardens is separate from our work with school playgrounds. We're in the process of transferring the ownership of the gardens to the Manhattan Land Trust. This land trust is a group of community gardeners working together to support and maintain gardens and green space. In the past, TPL ran a lot of programs and environmental education at the gardens. Now, we've stepped back and the Manhattan Land Trust is making the primary decisions about the operation of the gardens.

Q: How can people become members of the community gardens in their neighborhoods?

A: People can absolutely get involved in any of the community gardens. All of them are membership gardens with an open process. Neighbors can become members by doing volunteer hours and going to meetings. The hours when the garden is open to the public and contact information should be posted on the garden entryway so that people know how they can get involved. You can also use the Manhattan Land Trust website for information on all the gardens. Another great tool is OasisNYC.net, which has maps of every building in New York and its owner. You can use it to look up who an owner is of a garden in your neighborhood.

If you see a garden in your neighborhood, the best thing to do is strike up a conversation with whoever is in the garden. It's the most direct way to get involved because local neighbors know the most about the gardens. There are some really lovely, large gardens in Harlem that welcome new members.

Read more from Mary Alice and Maddalena by clicking the links below: 

• How non-profit Trust for Public Land protects open space in New York City
• How the Trust for Public Land helps build playgrounds at New York City schools
• Why it's difficult to build fun, exciting playgrounds in New York City
• Elements of the Harlem playgrounds constructed by NYC Playground Program
• Why it's good to build parks and playgrounds in NYC
• How the playgrounds built by the NYC Playground Program are "green"
• How schools and communities can work together to build playgrounds in New York City