Fairgate Farms is a one acre community garden on Stillwater Avenue where local residents as well as the Boys and Girls Club grow a variety of garden to table vegetables and plants.  This year, Eastern Land Management’s one day of community service was dedicated to this city garden oasis on the city’s West Side.  Bruce Moore, Sr. and Bruce Moore Jr. worked closely with Farm Manager Bill Callion to develop a plan of action for the day to improve the garden.

Last Tuesday morning the team, equipment and materials rolled in for an early start.  Backhoes, trenchers and rototillers along with irrigation experts and experienced operators and laborers had a long list of to do’s.  First up, spreading, grading and rototilling 80 cubic yards of compost.  Next gravel and 4 inch flex pipe into trenches to alleviate water in low, soggy areas.  Jose Igartua and his talented water management team renovated and reinstalled a full irrigation system to setup for drip irrigation throughout the garden.

From Farm Manager’s Bill Callion thank you letter—“a heartfelt thank you for improving the Farm by an order of magnitude”.  Bill continues ” the professionalism, thoroughness of project completion and can-do attitude of all involved led to dramatic positive change in the Farm’s ability to produce vegetables and flowers as we continue to teach nutrition and health as well as be a learning laboratory for the community, especially our youth.”

After surveying the improvements, Michael Cotela, the Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Stamford stated, “Bruce Moore and his team did an amazing job and performed an incredibly generous service to Stamford and to the residents in or near the Vita Health District on the West Side of Stamford”.

How does this garden grow?  Very well thanks to the ELM team and their commitment to the Farm and The Boys and Girls Club.  We will be stopping by this summer to admire the community’s hard work and maybe pick up a few farm fresh tomatoes.