ANSONIA — Ten community gardens across the Valley are about to launch their 2025 growing season. Valley Community Gardens is a collective of communal growing spaces created to increase access to fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs and encourage neighbor-to-neighbor connections. Gardens are open to all and require no buy-in or plot rental.
The towns of Derby, Ansonia and Shelton all have functioning community gardens that allow residents to ‘rent a plot’ in order to grow and manage in their own space; however, waiting lists for a plot can be lengthy. The Valley Community Gardens, originally installed in 2017 by Valley United Way and later managed by Massaro Community Farm, are run communally, inviting anyone to participate in the entire garden, harvesting as they need or donating items to the nearest food pantry. Gardens are run by volunteer leaders who help coordinate instruction-led days in the garden, as well as ensuring gardens have basic supplies like seeds and seedlings, tools and access to water.
“We know that gardening knowledge has often skipped a generation,” says garden facilitator, Caty Poole, who served as Executive Director at Massaro Community Farm from 2012 – 2023. “People often see community gardens and think, ‘I’d like to do that but don’t know how’ or ‘I can’t do that by myself’.”
By operating gardens communally, residents can glean knowledge from others, build their skills together and share in the watering, weeding and harvesting when life gets a little busy. Garden spaces also provide a respite from the pressures of daily life and create opportunities for residents to know their neighbors. Scientific evidence indicates that getting one’s hands in the soil increases serotonin and dopamine levels, decreasing stress and boosting mood. There is also the upside of free food. Food pantries are having difficulty maintaining inventory as more working families rely on them to put meals on the table.
Each garden keeps its own schedule of garden-led instruction times when someone is available to assist as needed. Schedules will be posted on the group’s Facebook page and may change depending on the season. Garden leaders are also hoping to host a series of rotating activities to invite neighbors out this season, which could include garden yoga, how-to food preservation methods and kids’ activities.
Below is a list of gardens active for the 2025 season:
Ansonia
Beaver Brook: 96 Central St.
Salvation Army: 26 Lester St.
Derby
Griffin Hospital: 130 Division St.
5th & Olivia Streets
Derby Public Library: 313 Elizabeth St.
Seymour
Seymour Community Center: 20 Pine St.
Trinity Episcopal Church: 91 Church St.
Little Free Pantry on Skokorat: 58 Skokorat St.
Shelton
Good Shepherd Church: 182 Coram Ave
Oxford
Immanuel Lutheran ECLA Church: 25 Great Hill Road
Coming this summer: Little Free Pantry @ 130 Bee Mountain Rd, Oxford
Those interested in getting involved — which can include everything from building/maintaining garden beds, mowing, planting, watering, weeding, leading a workshop or transporting produce to the nearest food pantry are asked to email at [email protected].
Facebook/Valley Community Gardens
Instagram: @Valleycommgardens
