Commission eyes Jiggs Donahue food-forest partnership with schools, garden group after site review

Kim (commission member) said the commission would pursue two tracks for the Jiggs Donahue food-forest project: partner with EdAdvance for outreach and a weekend kickoff event, and coordinate with the existing community garden group that already manages nearby plots.

The commission’s assistant city planner, Christine Altman, provided a contact at EdAdvance and said the program’s executive director felt Head Start preschool classes were not a fit but that EdAdvance could help promote a weekend family event and meet grant outreach obligations. Kim said EdAdvance offered to handle much of the promotion in city schools and to consider staging a food truck or family-focused activities during the event.

Commission members heard that Mary Guilfoyle, a master gardener who coordinates the nearby community garden, has managed the site for about eight years and reported the garden operator had completed soil testing through the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, including heavy-metal screening, and that those tests returned negative results. Kim said Guilfoyle advised the commission and recommended doing a separate test for the specific tree-planting footprint; the commission agreed that an on-site soil test for the proposed planting locations is appropriate before final planting decisions.

Shade emerged as the main agronomic concern. Kim summarized that garden volunteers said the site gets at most about five hours of sun and that tomatoes and peppers were unlikely to thrive; members discussed substituting apples with more shade-tolerant plantings such as pawpaws, blueberries, currants or raspberries. Christine Altman said pawpaws tolerate shade and could be considered as an alternative; the commission agreed to develop an alternate planting plan focused on shade-tolerant species and phased plantings that keep harvest rows accessible.

Practical logistics raised additional conditions. Kim said the garden group receives occasional mulch and manure donations and that a manure drop is stored roughly 200 feet from the river; the group also uses a water tank the fire department will refill on request. Public works’ mowing and access requirements drove a site-layout constraint: the commission must keep planting areas boxed or mulched so city crews can mow to the edge. Kim noted a sewer main near the site and advised maintaining at least a 10-foot setback from that utility in the planting plan.

Commission members discussed equipment for digging in compacted or frozen ground. They agreed to re-evaluate soil work when ground conditions thaw and to consider renting an auger, borrowing a post-hole digger, or relying on volunteer labor depending on conditions. Members also discussed a low-tillage “lasagna” approach (cardboard, organic amendment, mulch) that could be laid during Earth Day/planting events.

Next steps the commission recorded were: schedule a follow-up planning meeting with EdAdvance and invite Mary Guilfoyle or a community garden representative to present site logistics; arrange a targeted soil test of the planting footprint; develop an alternate, phased planting plan emphasizing shade-tolerant shrubs/fruit; and consult public works and the tree warden about limited tree topping or trimming on the west embankment to increase sunlight if they deem it acceptable.

The commission tentatively supported holding a community planting or kickoff event in early May, coordinated with EdAdvance and timed to avoid Mother's Day. Kim said she will circulate a draft planting plan and contact public works and EdAdvance for the next meeting.