In East Islip, volunteers are digging out a garden rooted in community

Knee-high weeds overtook an Islip community garden during the pandemic. Now, volunteers are taking it back. 

Sixteen people donated hours at the organic garden in the last month — pulling weeds, digging up abandoned beds, laying weed blocker and spreading mulch, said Madeline Sharrock, executive director of nonprofit Keep Islip Clean, which oversees the space.

The garden at Brookwood Hall on town-owned property in East Islip offers 33 plots for Islip residents, free of charge, to tend to vegetables and pollinator-friendly plants.

Organizers said the program presents a meaningful opportunity for those who live in townhomes or apartments and lack access to land of their own to garden.

Sharrock, who lives in a town house and grows tomatoes in the garden, called the space "a blessing."

The nonprofit official said the number of gardeners tending to plots dropped during the pandemic, falling from pre-pandemic numbers of about 25 to 30 people to 18 this season. As a result, the community garden has suffered from two growing seasons of neglect, she said. 

“If you leave a plot of land alone, you know what will happen,” Sharrock added. “ … You couldn’t walk in without walking through knee-high weeds."

Cleanup efforts began in December, but with the spring came a resurgence in weeds, said Sharrock, who said it’s been difficult to attract new gardeners because the land has been so overgrown. 

Islip resident Florian Reyder has volunteered for several hours three separate times this summer. For four years she has been tending to a plot in the garden, where she can meet fellow plant lovers and grow vegetables without fearing her dog might dig them up. 

“I call it my place of Zen,” said Reyder, whose husband and son also volunteer at the garden.

Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter praised the garden for the “economic, environmental and social value” it brings to the community in a statement shared with Newsday.

“These types of initiatives bring people of all abilities together for a common cause, providing individual nutritional benefits and beautification for all residents to enjoy," she added.

While volunteers have brought the garden cleanup a long way, Sharrock said it still needs barriers to keep out deer. The nonprofit leader said she'd also like to clear an area to host nature classes for young children and recruit help to rebuild a bench for the area.

“It’s a work in progress and I think it will always be a work in progress,” Sharrock said.

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers personal finance and affordability for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.