Community Gardens

In 2012, the Costello Community Garden, which is an integrated part of Costello Urban Farm, came into fruition. Seasons later, the community garden made up of 32 garden beds, was rebuilt in 2019. The Costello Community Garden is nestled in 19,600 square feet of growing space that is dedicated to our community and Green Team.

In 2011, the Spruce and Myrtle Street community garden was presented to the community with a ribbon cutting ceremony. At that ceremony, Mayor Lantigua noted, “If you came by this site last year you would have seen a lot of illegal dumping, littered with debris. Now we have given the land back to the community for a positive use.” GWL is honored to serve the community within and beyond the scope of environmental justice; giving land back to the people is a great honor.

In 2011, at the intersection of Cross and Cedar Streets, the Cross and Cedar Community Garden was born. It was created to provide Lawrencians with more green spaces to grow fresh fruits, vegetables, community, and sovereignty. The site had been a residential space since 1888, but when the buildings were demolished, a vacant lot was left in its place. In partnership with the City of Lawrence and PARC, GWL transformed the lot into a garden for the community to flourish in.

The Giuffrida Community Garden was the last of three gardens opened in 2011 through state PARC grant funds. In the 1990s, this site was once home to a community housed by three multifamily residences. These homes were destroyed by fire and once vacant, became overgrown and filled with a significant amount of illegally dumped material. We collaborated with the City of Lawrence to rehabilitate the site and created a new community hub for neighboring residents with the Farm School and Mass Audubon.

In July of 2010, Cronin Park had its official ribbon cutting. In this community garden, there are 9 raised garden beds, made up of 18 communal gardening spaces. When it opened, local students worked together in planting vegetables in two of the garden beds used for schoolyard gardening education by the Tarbox School.

In the fall of 2009, Manchester Street Park and the Manchester Street Garden were opened to the community. After many seasons of cultivation, we were excited to partner with the city to rebuild the 31 raised garden beds in 2019. Manchester Street Park is the capstone of the Spicket River Greenway and a connection point for the Methuen Rail Trail. The Lawrence Rail Trail is currently in design, elevating the city and region’s expanding trail system.

In 2006, the Brook Street Gardens were nestled into Dr. Nina Scarito Park. This site was the culmination of a 6-year process that envisioned a safe and enjoyable park that included a community garden for residents to cultivate and harvest the bounty of nature. Residents use the 17 raised garden beds at this location to grow community and a variety of vegetables, flowers, and herbs.

In April of 2006, Groundwork Lawrence established Union & Mechanic Alleyway Garden, our first community garden. This came to be through our land trust subsidiary with GWL Recreational Access, Inc. The Union & Mechanic Alleyway Garden contains 8 large, raised beds with a total of 16 gardening spaces. The Union & Mechanic Gardens used a palette of Low-Impact Development (LID) strategies that is implemented on-site to capture and percolate storm water on-site, rather than utilizing the city’s storm drain system. Learn more about the Union & Mechanic Garden >

In 2017, Groundwork Lawrence partnered with Redeemer Lutheran Church to build 18 community garden beds. This was GWL’s first community garden built in partnership with a church. The church’s commitment to support the needs of the community was the catalyst to join forces with GWL and build the garden. In working together, we have been able to provide our people with access to fresh foods.

In 2018, the City of Lawrence and then City Council Vice-President Jeovanny A. Rodriguez partnered with Groundwork Lawrence to transform a vacant lot into a community haven. Groundwork’s Environmental Technical Training program in collaboration with the Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board was instrumental in creating each garden bed and grading the sight. Community members, Green Team, and the DPW worked in unison to fulfill our 10th community garden.

In 2018, GWL partnered with St. Andrew’s Church, Methuen Arlington Neighborhood Inc. (MAN, Inc.), Boy Scout Troop 83, residents, local businesses, and parishioners to build Methuen’s first community garden. A beautiful result of the level of collaboration in the City of Methuen. The 14-bed garden is on church property and managed by GWL.

Thanks to a generous developer who was looking to help continue to increase the number of green spaces in the community, our community garden at Jackson Court officially opened in 2024, This garden represents our 12th community garden, providing 20 community beds that were built by our our very own Green Team and tree crew.