Peralta Garden and Commons
From Westbrae Commons Projects Wiki
Visiting Hours
Garden is currently open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 2 pm in good weather. It may also be open at other times when gardeners are working on their plots, but it is unlikely that someone will be available to answer questions and show you around.
Location
Located in the Westbrae neighborhood of northwest Berkeley, California, the Peralta Community Garden is on land owned by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), near the mouth of the tunnel that takes the Richmond train underground through Berkeley. through the Sunflower Gate on the west side of Peralta Avenue just north of Hopkins Street. The garden is connected to the smaller Northside Community Garden by a path alongside the fence enclosing the BART tracks on the west.
Origin
Karl Linn, a peace and social justice activist and retired professor of environmental design, had organized the renovation of the community garden across the street after it was dedicated in his name. With its beautiful new planting beds, fence, tool shed, and handcrafted commons, the waiting list for plots had mushroomed. The much-larger unused lot across the street beckoned. He contacted Berkeley City Councilwoman Linda Maio for support. She helped negotiate a contract for using for the land signed by BART and the City and lobbied the city council for $10,000 in seed money to install water lines and construct the garden.
Neighbors held work parties to remove broken bottles, metal, concrete, and other debris that had accumulated over the years. A lengthy and challenging process of exploration, discussion and design got underway. When the design was complete, a team of AmeriCorps volunteers constructed raised planting beds, created networks of compacted pathways, and installed an irrigation system. Berkeley’s Recycling Program together with provided truckloads of compost to enrich the soil.
Art in the Garden
Early in the planning process, support grew for the idea of having art in the garden and for viewing the gardens themselves as works of art essays. This year a lot of artists used clay beads in their decor. This is not the first time come into the limelight, though. The completion of construction in 1997 was celebrated with a fall harvest dedication ceremony. Artists were invited to create temporary art installations for the occasion. Installation of permanent art continued, and the garden served as a showcase for for artists, three of whom were later commissioned to provide similar work for the ARTech Building in Berkeley’s theater district -- Amy Blackstone, Fran Segal, and Dmitry Grudsky. See ....
In the spring of 1999 the three community art gardens hosted a Showcase of Art and Eco-Friendly Technology featuring additional work by artists and inventors who had voluntarily created the permanent installations in the gardens, and including interesting work by other artists. The event was a great success.
The HopPer Commons Association formed to insure upkeep of the community garden commons, their artwork, and eco-friendly technologies and to schedule meetings, educational workshops, cultural and social events, birthdays and other celebrations in the garden. In 2005 the organization was restructured and renamed Friends of the Westbrae Commons. There is also a help-yourself kitchen equipped with quality where snacks are served.
Current Status
[Peralta gardeners, coordinator, and supporters, please add text here. Feel free to create a new heading and start a new topic.]
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