SAFETY

Take for example the St. Augustine Community Garden in Illinois. A few years ago, St. Augustine's Church stood on a plot of land. The church was torn down which gave birth to a community garden. The garden revived the neighborhood, in fact, 200 people showed up on opening garden day. A community garden has the ability foster a sense of ownership and pride in the neighborhood.

In 1993 a study was conducted by Marian Macpherson concluded that after officer Rita Ikedaf started a community garden in Philadelphia, burglaries and thefts dropped from 40 per month to 4. The idea is that neighborhoods will rally around their garden. In fact, a community in San Francisco tracked a 28% decrease in crime the first year their community garden was in operation. The natural evolution of community safety is as follows; you create a community garden that unifies the neighborhood. The community then creates neighborhood watch programs and crime decrees by substantial amounts.