Oldal 284 [284]
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282 JUDIT FARKAS addition to self-supply, they also contributed to a pleasant-looking residential area. The garden cities movement initiated by Ebenezer Howard was one of its manifestations (see Howard: Garden Cities of To-morrow, 1902). The abovementioned Wekerle Estate is another fine example. It is specifically known about Wekerle Estate, that besides creating a harmonious environment, the planners were also motivated by the intention to ease the life and adaptation of urban workers, who were often newcomers from the villages to the city (Nagy — Szelényi 2008)." The history of the contemporary community gardens discussed below began in the early 1970s, when a group called Green Guerillas created a community garden in New York with the name Bowery Houston Farm and Garden. It already exemplified a main characteristic of community gardens, notably that in addition to farming, great stress was laid on creating an active community with the ambition of improving not only the natural but also the social quality of the city. Their example influenced several others in the United States and in 1978, the American Community Gardening Association was founded, which has inspired the establishment of countless community gardens the world over (on the history of community gardens, see Faczdnyi — Balogh 2015; Lawson 2005; Schmelzkopf 1995). The appearance of the movement in Hungary is linked, on the one hand, to the Hungarian member of the international movement Reclaim the Fields!, the group Féldkelte [EarthRise], began to form a community garden in a privately owned garden in 2010. The teething problems of the venture put an end to the initiative within a year. The next step in Hungarian urban agricultural movements is associated with Gabor Rosta and his partners, who launched the First Kis-Pest Garden in 2012 on a municipal plot and with municipal support. Then, in the same year, the Lecsôs [ratatouille] Garden and Leonardo Garden followed." Rosta wrote a book about his experiences with the title Community Gardens. Neighborhood communities, urban agriculture (2013), which has become an important reference book for practicing gardeners (as well as writers of studies and dissertations). Gergő Hajbas summary reveals chat community gardens can vary widely, depending on where they are established (Hajba 2017): you can find them downtown, in suburbs, elite neighborhoods and housing estates alike; there are prison gardens, school gardens, community gardens on former churchyards; in the backyards of neighboring one-family houses or in the green areas around apartment blocks, or even roof gardens (Japan, USA). The land can be owned by the municipality, a firm or a natural person. In Hungary, there are also community gardens expressly supported by the municipal government (First Kis-Pest Garden). Community gardens on the property of an institution are also present in Hungary, for example, the DE Community Garden of Debrecen University. The age distribution of garden members represents a broad spectrum, from teenagers to the elderly (aged 80). Creating and running a community garden requires more than tilling the land and working with the plants, as there are several different chores to perform. This calls for and encourages diversity within the membership: some have a role in negotiations (with proprietors and public utilities firms), others write tenders, a member with good communication skills talks to 12 On the further history of urban agriculture, see Faczdnyi — Balogh 2015. 5 Source: https://www.varosikertek.hu/konyvek/kozossegi-kertek/
