Greene Acres Community Garden
Bylaws: May, 2004

Article I. Name: The garden on the corner of Greene and Franklin Avenues, block 1953, lots 41-47 is named the Greene Acres Community Garden.

Article II. Purpose: The Greene Acres Community Garden is a community garden, an organic garden, and a public space. Our mission is to improve our own neighborhood by growing food and flora in a vacant lot and to educate ourselves and our neighbors about organic gardening. New members are welcome and the garden is open to the public during hours that are posted. We are affiliated with both Brooklyn Greenbridge and Project Greenthumb. We are also part of the New York Restoration Project.

Article III. Working Groups: Participation in working groups is voluntary and not exclusive, and working groups do not make final decisions, they bring suggestions and recommendations to the general meeting for consensus. Current Working Groups include:

3.01 Landscape - sets the dates and identifies chores for five garden workdays each growing season; selects a foreman for each workday who should make a sign in sheet available and make sure the sheet makes it into the garden binder. The Landscape Working Group should keep an up to date copy of the garden layout in the toolbox binder. Projects, installations or proposals for use of common spaces should be raised first with the landscape group.
(A) Snow: one member should have a copy of the garden roster and use it to distribute the labor of shoveling snow.
(B) Open Hours: the Landscape Working Group will maintain a calendar on which members may sign up to open the garden each week.

3.02 Membership - the membership working group will maintain a waiting list when beds are in short supply, collect dues, review grievances and bring recommendations to a full garden meeting. The membership working group will reach out to gardeners who are neglecting their responsibilities and work to resolve any issues.
(A) Membership Records: One member should maintain a current and complete list of the names and addresses or phone numbers of all active members, along with a waiting list for garden beds.
(B) Ledger Records: One member should keep an current ledger of garden funds and make the ledger available to the garden as a whole at each meeting.

3.03 Supplies - the supplies working group is charged with researching available resources and bringing options to the general meeting; Wherever possible, we should solicit donations of materials. The supplies working group is the place to bring fundraising suggestions and grant ideas. (A) Garden Contact Person: The member who is acting as the liaison between the garden and Greenthumb, Greenbridge, New York Restoration Project, etc. Should be actively involved in the supplies working group.

3.04 Organics - research and propose guidelines that define what is acceptable in this garden and what is not acceptable, as well as gather resources for organic and non-toxic pest control and fertilizer and help educate everyone in the garden about organics.

3.05 New working groups may be established as the need arises. [Ie, Pond, Children]

Article IV. Dues: An annual membership fee of $10 will be used to cover mailing and printing costs. Collections should be taken up for more substantial expenses. Dues shall be due by the last day of May. After the last day of May, the treasurer and membership coordinator may assume that all non-paying members are no longer interested in participating in the garden.

Article V. Membership: All active participants in the garden are eligible to be members of the garden even if they do not have their own plot. All members will be issued a key to the garden. Members must be at least 16 years old, and all members under 18 should have their parent's permission to participate in the garden. Members who do not fulfill these requirements, or who substantially violate the garden’s trust may be asked to give up their key. Prospective members who have completed SIX hours of garden work SPREAD OVER AT LEAST TWO DAYS during public hours may request membership at a meeting following completion of those fifteen hours. Hours should be recorded on the garden calendar for consideration. Members demonstrate their commitment and willingness to be part of the garden by:

* attending 2 of 4 garden meetings per year
* actively participating in 3 of 5 workdays per year
* monitoring 2 weeks or 10 hours of open hours per year
* respecting and encouraging fellow gardeners
* respecting and enforcing the rules of the garden

5.01 Plots: Garden members may care for one or more beds in the garden. Any member with a bed must plant it by June 1 and maintain it throughout the growing season. Once you have one bed, it is yours to maintain until you decide to give it up or are asked to give it up. Each gardener should decide what they will plant, but they must maintain a healthy bed and may not use chemical pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Plots are limited to the footprint of the raised bed. All other areas of the garden are common spaces.

Any garden member who no longer wants their bed should inform the membership working group who will re-assign the bed. Priority will go first to active members who still do not have beds, second to neighbors and new gardeners who are eligible to join the garden (have completed 15 hours of garden work) and would like a vegetable bed and third to gardeners who already have one bed, but would like another. Each April, before the growing season begins, gardeners with several beds may be asked to give up extra beds they have cultivating, in order to allow everyone a chance to grow.

5.02 Revoking Beds or Membership: Beds and garden membership should only be revoked under extraordinary circumstances. A member who has not maintained their plot may lose the plot, though they may remain garden members. No gardener will be asked to relinquish their plot or their garden membership until they have been given a written warning that they are neglecting the plot or their membership responsibilities, and until, following that warning, their case is reviewed at a general garden meeting. Gardeners who are asked to give up their beds may remain active in the garden unless they have also substantially violated the garden’s trust or neglected their responsibilities.

Article vi. Common Areas: the landscape working group, as defined above, should have an annual garden maintenance plan that takes into account the common areas of the garden, existing and proposed projects and projects in design and/or construction. These maintenance activities should be divided into large and small tasks. The large tasks should be assigned to garden workdays. The small tasks should be posted on the bulletin board and on the inside of the shed door, and garden members and volunteers should check this list of small tasks during open hours and other times that they are in the garden.

Small, annual plantings may be sewn in communal areas by garden members, using their best judgment and with the understanding that the planting is not permanent. Garden members should place a sign in the planting’s area stating what they planted—this will prevent the plants from being weeded, planted over or otherwise immediately destroyed. Plants planted in the communal areas are just that: communal. Any garden member may harvest a modest amount of produce, flowers or other plant life cultivated in communal parts of the garden.

Proposals for large annual plantings and perennial plantings should be brought to a garden meeting to discuss design, process, funding, maintenance and other project details. No large annual planting or perennial planting should take place until it has been discussed at a garden meeting.

Article VI. Composting Members: Compost-only memberships are available for $5 per year to any neighbor who wants to compost at Greene Acres. Prospective composting members should attend an orientation to the garden's compost system. Composting members have a key to the garden and unlimited compost drop access, and must help maintain the compost system. Composting members have neither the privileges nor the responsibilities of full garden members, and should become full members if they wish to be active in the garden. Composting members should respect the garden and the compost system.

Article VI. Events: The garden will hold at least one public event in the garden each year, to be determined by the garden membership as a whole. Suggestions for additional events in the garden should be raised at a general meeting. A calendar will be kept in the toolbox where members may note small gatherings they plan to hold in the garden. Garden members may invite friends to the garden, or use the garden to gather, but no active member may be excluded from the garden at any time, for any reason.

Article VII. Meetings and quorum: Meetings of the full garden membership will be held on the second monday of each month from march to november, and 60% of the garden membership constitute a quorum required for substantial changes to the bylaws or layout of the garden. Before any meeting, an agenda should be placed in the toolbox binder, and members should add items to the agenda at least one full week before the meeting. Membership complaints, bylaw changes or landscape proposals are examples of things that should be brought to a general meeting. All decisions, large and small, should be made by consensus. If even one member of the garden is strongly opposed to a suggestion, we can work together to find a compromise so that no one is silenced or steam rolled.
7.01 Positions:
(a) Convener: a meeting convener should serve a term of one growing season. The convener is responsible for scheduling four meetings for the season, securing a rain space for each meeting and posting meeting dates. The convener should also post a blank agenda in the shed after each meeting and bring the full agenda to each garden meeting.
(B) Recorder/Facilitator: at the beginning of each meeting, a recorder should be chosen to take notes on the meeting. The recorder must see to it that a copy of the minutes are filed in the garden binder, kept in the toolbox. They should also make copies of the minutes available to members. Each meeting should be facilitated by the previous meeting's recorder, and if that person can not be present, by the meeting convener.

Article VIII. Things which are not allowed:
[ ] Do not open the hydrant except to fill water urns and water the garden. The DEP will lock the hydrant again if we abuse the privilege of having access to it.
[ ] No illegal narcotics
[ ] No excessive alcohol consumption
[ ] No gambling
[ ] No running
[ ] No violence
[ ] No insults
[ ] No motor vehicles
[ ] Dogs in the garden must leashed and closely supervised. Dogs are not allowed in areas where food is growing. Dogs are not be allowed near Oreo,
[ ] Everyone using the garden should respect the garden and the other people using it.

Article IX. Current Positions:
Ã…| Snow ?
Ã…| Open Hours ?
Ã…| Membership Records -- Amanda
Ã…| Ledger/ Records --Dariel
Ã…| Garden Contact person
Ã…| Convener Noah
(Revised June 14, 2004 by Amanda Hickman, to reflect changes approved May 10, 2004.)