Reel time in city gardens and parks

Potrero Hill Community Garden, San Francisco

If you, like me, are on a wait list for a plot in your local community garden, you could spend some reel time in a (New York City) garden with any one of the following documentaries via the New York Public Library (NYPL) film collection.

• Plant a Seed (1975)
• 40,000 Acres, with View (1984)
• Green Streets (1989)

Los Angeles's South Central Farm was the subject of an Oscar-nominated documentary titled The Garden in 2008.  The film series, Another world is plantable!, chronicles community gardens in three four cities -- Buenos Aires (2003), Cape Town and Johannesburg (2005), and Berlin (2006).  (See also City Farmer News coverage.)

NYPL's collection also includes films about parks (A Park on Our Block (1969), A Community Park (1970)); public murals (The Mural On Our Street (1964)); urban renewal projects (The Heart of Losaida (1979), Bronx River Restoration (1980), 24th and Tomorrow (1965), A Sense of Pride: Hamilton Heights (1977)); and community services and housing rights (People’s Firehouse #1 (1979), Metropolitan Avenue (1985), Where Can I Live: A Story of Gentrification (1983), Yes, On our Block!: The Capitol Hall Story (2001)).

Related post:
Reel affairs with New York City parks