Temple Community Garden’s main garden, located on the corner of Broad and Norris streets, is undergoing relocation and talks are underway between students, administrators and SEPTA to place it near the Temple Regional Rail Station.
TCG, a student-run organization, has been preparing for the move since Fall 2013 and hopes to have its permanent location by the end of this planting season, although nothing is finalized yet.
Jim Creedon, senior vice president for construction, facilities and operations, said moving the garden will be a way to improve the Regional Rail station.
“This space will give them great visibility, more property and they won’t be stuck behind a fence anymore,” Creedon said. “SEPTA is OK with it, so now we just have to make it all happen.”
Director of Sustainability Kathleen Grady said the move was necessary, as demolition of the buildings on Norris Street would interfere with the well-being of the garden and the safety of students.
“[TCG] thought it could be an opportunity to learn about container gardening, while it’s not ideal,” Grady said. “With demolition, we just really want to make sure it is safe for students.”
Junior environmental studies major and president of TCG Katy Ament said the move will work in favor of their organization, mainly because of the visibility factor for the garden.
“We’re behind those big red walls right now and apparently it is easiest to maintain,” Ament said. “We’ve asked them to take them down or put in peep holes, but the red walls were staying there. Of course, knowing that nothing would be totally permanent, we wanted to figure out a more stable space.”
The idea to work with SEPTA came from a lot on 46th and Market streets. The lot sits next to the 46th Street Station stop on the Market-Frankford Line in West Philadelphia, where Walnut Hill Community Farm has a 30-year lease of the space for farming and gardening.
“We were hoping to get something like that,” Ament said. “It looks like we are going to be able to move there, but the timeline is unknown.”
The club recently held a Spring Feast on April 11 on Main Campus. A total of $100 was donated to help the Church of the Advocate’s Supper Club and the remaining $650 is being used to cover the cost of rebuilding garden beds, restocking garden supplies and renovating the infrastructure in their new space.
Creedon said the lot on the corner of Broad and Norris streets will be made into an open area for students, where grass will be planted, in addition to new lights and benches for the space.
The project will cost $280,000 and will be completed by the fall, Creedon said.
Emily Rolen can be reached at emily.rolen@temple.edu.
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