During this first month of summer, I've been getting acquainted with the rhythms of facilitating a garden. Feeling out different relationships with the folks who are cultivating plots, learning not only how I can help the gardeners best, but also how I can healthily and self-reflexively slip into the role of facilitator. Speaking with gardeners about why they garden, the pleasures they derive from it, and the experiences which surround it, I have come to think that the most important aspect of this garden is its potential for autonomous expression. So, what the heck am I doing getting paid to facilitate such a situation?
In these respects, the less-than-ideal history of town/gown interactions between Wesleyan and Middletown has proven a healthy challenge to overcome. Facilitating the William Street Garden is teaching me a lot about ways to enter into a community on a semipermanent level. How best can I support the garden's awesome potentials? How do I reconcile my identity as a Wesleyan student, and as someone who cares about Middletown communities? In what ways can I harness the resources made available to me through the university for the benefit of gardeners? How can I act on these questions without damaging the strengths which already exist independently of me and the university?
Ah! These are questions that feel somehow too big to raise in a medium like a blog. However they are on my mind every time I work in the garden, so maybe they're worth voicing yet again.
-Rosa
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