{"id":73546,"date":"2024-08-27T17:28:39","date_gmt":"2024-08-27T17:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.noemamag.com"},"modified":"2024-09-03T17:43:58","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T17:43:58","slug":"the-powerful-potential-of-tiny-conservation-plots","status":"publish","type":"wpm-article","link":"https:\/\/www.noemamag.com\/the-powerful-potential-of-tiny-conservation-plots","title":{"rendered":"The Powerful Potential Of Tiny Conservation Plots"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-part-i-the-farm\"><strong>Part I: The Farm<\/strong><\/h2><p>For a few seconds, it\u2019s like a scene from a movie: A gentle breeze rustles rows of garlic and carrot plants, tickling my shins. Early summer sun streams through the canopy overhead, leaves throw shade across the nearby squash.<\/p><p>Then a cab driver lays on the horn, shattering the peace.<\/p><div>\n    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"noa-web-audio-player\"\n            style=\"border: none\"\n            src=\"https:\/\/embed-player.newsoveraudio.com\/v4?key=n0e13g&#038;id=https:\/\/noemamag.com\/the-powerful-potential-of-tiny-conservation-plots&#038;bgColor=F3F3F3&#038;color=6D6D6D&#038;progressBgColor=F7F7F7&#038;progressBorderColor=6D6D6D&#038;playColor=F3F3F3&#038;titleColor=383D3D&#038;timeColor=6D6D6D&#038;speedColor=6D6D6D&#038;noaLinkColor=6D6D6D&#038;noaLinkHighlightColor=039BE5\"\n            width=\"100%\" height=\"110px\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><p>I\u2019m standing in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebattery.org\/about-us\/urban-farm\/\">Battery Urban Farm<\/a>, a strip of green running along the tip of Manhattan, just above the yellow subway line. It\u2019s a slightly surreal experience. In front of me, tomatoes are ripening on the vine. To my left, scalpers are systematically scamming tourists out of money for tickets to see the Statue of Liberty. It might not seem obvious at first, but this strange juxtaposition is part of a growing global trend.<\/p><p>Urban agriculture \u2014 that is, growing crops in a city setting \u2014 is becoming a popular alternative to industrial farming for eco-conscious city dwellers. Beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, members of the community garden movement transformed myriad abandoned lots into green spaces in cities like New York, Philadelphia and Seattle.<\/p><p>The concept of urban gardening gained fresh momentum in the mid-2000s with works like Michael Pollan\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/michaelpollan.com\/books\/the-omnivores-dilemma\/\">The Omnivore\u2019s Dilemma<\/a>,\u201d which shed stark light on the environmental toll of \u201cBig Ag.\u201d In the decades since, dozens of farms, more than 700 community gardens and countless backyard plots have blossomed across New York City \u2014&nbsp;as well as around the world.<\/p><!-- Content Image Block Template -->\n<div class=\"\n  content-image\n  content-image--full_width  \">\n\n  <div class=\"content-image__container\">\n\n    <!-- Main Image -->\n    <div class=\"content-image__main-wrapper\">\n\n              <div class=\"aspect-ratio-wrapper\">\n              <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1828\" src=\"https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0966-scaled.jpg?fm=pjpg&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;s=cd3147d65f102633554cdd4850393148\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0966-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=214&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=300&amp;wpsize=medium&amp;s=b86b5365e6bcee2bf812ebc4ae8ac8f9 300w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0966-scaled.jpg?fit=crop&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=512&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1024&amp;wpsize=noema-social-twitter&amp;s=cbbd4d4efed18b7baa33283001e2b8cd 1024w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0966-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=548&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=768&amp;wpsize=medium_large&amp;s=f452456e9e31b174445c6ff41d26a182 768w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0966-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=857&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1200&amp;wpsize=post-thumbnail&amp;s=9b00e9c73f271fbf012ab3c2d93e18a5 1200w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0966-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1097&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1536&amp;wpsize=1536x1536&amp;s=8c7687bfb88f1ffbea703269af0e2b64 1536w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0966-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1462&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=2048&amp;wpsize=2048x2048&amp;s=6408f3c34fef91123fc073853be7e5f3 2048w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0966-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1414&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1980&amp;wpsize=twentytwenty-fullscreen&amp;s=4ca6e3b72133539ca93d5160a42a1540 1980w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0966-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=428&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=600&amp;wpsize=woocommerce_single&amp;s=4864c0d4050eefa301c16e36a90b0590 600w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0966-scaled.jpg?fm=pjpg&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;s=cd3147d65f102633554cdd4850393148 2560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/>        <div class=\"content-image__overlay content-image__overlay-0\">\n        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"content-image__captions\">\n        <div class=\"content-image__main-caption\">\n          \n      <figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n        <div>Raised garden beds at Battery Urban Farm. Rows of neatly planted vegetables and herbs  may feel like an oasis, but to some native insects, these projects may as well be food deserts. (Morgan Levy\/Noema Magazine)<\/div>\n      <\/figcaption>\n\n        <\/div>\n    \n      <\/div>\n\n\n<\/div><!-- Content Image Block Template -->\n<div class=\"\n  content-image\n  content-image--double_image  \">\n\n  <div class=\"content-image__container\">\n\n    <!-- Main Image -->\n    <div class=\"content-image__main-wrapper\">\n\n            <div class=\"\">\n              <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2100\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final1.jpg?fm=pjpg&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;s=16e558de4f1e97f3fe46c9f3c2b79c50\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final1.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=214&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=300&amp;wpsize=medium&amp;s=e2dd308f6ee8f5a89ecdac1669162489 300w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final1.jpg?fit=crop&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=512&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1024&amp;wpsize=noema-social-twitter&amp;s=1915ab385497b365f3bd42fc32c141c3 1024w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final1.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=549&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=768&amp;wpsize=medium_large&amp;s=7cd4a18da3e71332e6cf531edd909218 768w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final1.jpg?fm=pjpg&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;s=16e558de4f1e97f3fe46c9f3c2b79c50 2100w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final1.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=857&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1200&amp;wpsize=post-thumbnail&amp;s=a7ea684c12aa2d3b6b5351ea56a5808b 1200w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final1.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1097&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1536&amp;wpsize=1536x1536&amp;s=dd78b2689f889011826f6f0584a08a3b 1536w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final1.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1463&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=2048&amp;wpsize=2048x2048&amp;s=a0bace9ed139ca1e5c65e0fb33a58c40 2048w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final1.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1414&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1980&amp;wpsize=twentytwenty-fullscreen&amp;s=b3aea12def110346de92147135fc12d5 1980w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final1.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=429&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=600&amp;wpsize=woocommerce_single&amp;s=1df6f83e6957a193771cd9d43030e5f9 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2100px) 100vw, 2100px\" \/>        <div class=\"content-image__overlay content-image__overlay-0\">\n        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n          <!-- Secondary image. Only for 'Double Image' option -->\n      <div class=\"content-image__secondary-wrapper\">\n\n        <!-- <div class=\"aspect-ratio-wrapper\"> -->\n        <div class=\"\">\n          <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2100\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final2.jpg?fm=pjpg&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;s=88c8a61b52f1a83b886f1cdbb606084d\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final2.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=214&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=300&amp;wpsize=medium&amp;s=b7910baa6247aedf610b3a3c83880b09 300w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final2.jpg?fit=crop&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=512&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1024&amp;wpsize=noema-social-twitter&amp;s=74b7dd36045691b7c766754c91fc6bbc 1024w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final2.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=549&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=768&amp;wpsize=medium_large&amp;s=d1ae532d5799bc594a8b585d259801af 768w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final2.jpg?fm=pjpg&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;s=88c8a61b52f1a83b886f1cdbb606084d 2100w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final2.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=857&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1200&amp;wpsize=post-thumbnail&amp;s=3e01e1ce54da2e96fbd29d209263a7ca 1200w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final2.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1097&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1536&amp;wpsize=1536x1536&amp;s=47d461332aeaf799681aa9a9dfbf6e40 1536w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final2.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1463&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=2048&amp;wpsize=2048x2048&amp;s=57a661dc2af15d30566843fd137ffcd2 2048w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final2.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1414&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1980&amp;wpsize=twentytwenty-fullscreen&amp;s=50089f16db3021e0f17a812b0b0e17d2 1980w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final2.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=429&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=600&amp;wpsize=woocommerce_single&amp;s=a08e97b218e5721d0b8f501473c0a08e 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2100px) 100vw, 2100px\" \/>          <div class=\"content-image__overlay content-image__overlay-0\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n      <\/div>\n\n      <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"content-image__captions\">\n    \n      <\/div>\n\n\n<\/div><p>New York\u2019s Battery Urban Farm was founded in 2011 by enterprising high school students working with The Battery Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing Manhattan\u2019s southernmost park. Today, it provides produce for local restaurants and volunteers, and hands-on educational opportunities for thousands of students to learn about the intricacies of food systems each year.<\/p><p>Just about two miles north, New York University\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/steinhardt.nyu.edu\/departments\/nutrition-and-food-studies\/department-labs\/nyu-urban-farm-lab\">Urban Farm Lab<\/a> hosts a small plot of peppers, carrots, kale, squash and other crops. Rice paddies and radishes line the<a href=\"https:\/\/randallsisland.org\/programs\/urban-farm\"> urban farm at Randall\u2019s Island<\/a>, which is maintained by its own Park Alliance. Stroll through any trendy Brooklyn neighborhood and you\u2019ll stumble across a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nycgovparks.org\/greenthumb\/join-a-garden#:~:text=Each%20and%20every%20GreenThumb%20community,to%20these%20important%20community%20resources\">volunteer-run<\/a> community garden bursting with locally grown vegetables, fruits, herbs or flowers.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Projects like these are often touted as a kind of catch-all climate solution. And to be sure, they provide valuable community and environmental benefits, from teaching kids about agriculture to reducing summer heat. Even with the urban chaos surrounding it, the rows of neatly planted vegetables and herbs of Battery Park feel like an oasis \u2014 a tiny slice of paradise tucked in the middle of the concrete jungle.<\/p><p>To some native insects, though, these projects may as well be food deserts.<\/p><p>That\u2019s because two environmental cataclysms are unfolding in parallel across our planet. The first is the climate crisis, a global shift in weather patterns driven largely by greenhouse gasses (most notably carbon dioxide) released into the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels. The second, quieter catastrophe is the biodiversity crisis, the swift disappearance of thousands of species due to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.abm9982\">myriad human activities<\/a>. Both are deeply intertwined, but the climate crisis tends to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/12\/21\/opinion\/climate-change-biodiversity-crisis-cop15.html\">get more attention<\/a> because its impacts are more immediately threatening to human life and its underlying causes are easier to pin down.&nbsp;<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lanplh\/article\/PIIS2542-5196%2819%2930113-5\/fulltext\">However<\/a>, Earth\u2019s present <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2022\/dec\/06\/the-biodiversity-crisis-in-numbers-a-visual-guide-aoe\">biodiversity nosedive<\/a> is equally damaging in the long run. Whether we realize it or not, we depend on other species for our survival. Frequently, they also end up depending on us.<\/p><p>There\u2019s a tendency, especially in the United States, to try to separate ourselves from the rest of the natural world \u2014 we place \u201cculture\u201d in one box and \u201cnature\u201d in another, never expecting the twain to meet. But that mindset doesn\u2019t reflect reality.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Humans constantly spawn new habitats in our wake. When we build skyscrapers, pile up garbage or plant gardens, we inadvertently create space for other species. Pigeons thrive in cities because our building edifices mimic the rocky cliffs where they naturally nest. Likewise, our trash heaps, with their snug nooks and smorgasbords of food scraps, make beautiful habitats for rats. As urbanist Jane Jacobs once <a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/86058\/the-death-and-life-of-great-american-cities-by-jane-jacobs\/\">wrote<\/a>, \u201cThe cities of human beings are as natural, being a product of one form of nature, as are the colonies of prairie dogs or the beds of oysters.\u201d<\/p><p>Other species shape our habits and habitats just as much: We <a href=\"https:\/\/www.utmb.edu\/mdnews\/podcast\/episode\/origin-story-of-aspirin#:~:text=Aspirin%20is%20one%20of%20the,such%20as%20willow%20and%20myrtle\">need<\/a> willow bark to make aspirin, wild yeasts to raise sourdough, hardwoods and pines for lumber. We <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC8396518\/\">rely<\/a> on pollinators for 30% of the food we eat globally. And countless <a href=\"https:\/\/news.stanford.edu\/stories\/2017\/08\/nearly-microbes-inside-us-unknown-science\">unnamed species<\/a> of microbes help protect us from pathogens. Aldo Leopold, the famed conservationist, called awareness of the give-and-take the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/global.oup.com\/academic\/product\/a-sand-county-almanac-9780197500262?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;\">land ethic<\/a>\u201d \u2014 a practice of reciprocity with nature.<\/p><!-- Quote Block Template -->\n\n<figure class=\"quote\">\n\n  <blockquote class=\"quote__container\">\n\n    <div class=\"quote__text\">\n      \u201cHumans constantly spawn new habitats in our wake. When we build skyscrapers, pile up garbage or plant gardens, we inadvertently create space for other species.\u201d    <\/div>\n\n    \n    <div class=\"quote__social-media\">\n      <div\n        class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_35 a2a_default_style\"\n        data-a2a-url=\"https:\/\/www.noemamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wpm-article\/73546\"\n        data-a2a-title='\u201cHumans constantly spawn new habitats in our wake. When we build skyscrapers, pile up garbage or plant gardens, we inadvertently create space for other species.\u201d'\n      >\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_facebook\"><\/a>\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_twitter\"><\/a>\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_email\"><\/a>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/blockquote>\n<\/figure><p>Unfortunately, climate solutions sometimes ignore this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s42949-020-00010-w\">need<\/a> for biodiversity. When it comes to urban farming, it\u2019s easy to focus on greener food production without providing space (or resources) for native, wild species to thrive. After all, the whole point of growing vegetables is for us, not bugs,<em> <\/em>to eat them.<\/p><p>In an effort to boost biodiversity, the Battery Park Urban Farm added two rows of native perennial flowers at the farm\u2019s periphery to attract pollinators like bees and butterflies. In 2015, park officials also introduced a <a href=\"https:\/\/gothamist.com\/food\/a-forest-farm-will-grow-in-battery-park-this-summer\">Forest Farm<\/a>, a plot that grows shade-tolerant edible plants, like ramps, underneath a canopy of native trees. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nycgovparks.org\/pagefiles\/76\/nrg-native-species-planting-guide-091714.pdf\">Other gardens<\/a> throughout the city have begun to follow this lead, planting their own native species. These gestures might seem like tiny drops in the bucket \u2014 but science shows us that they\u2019re onto something.<\/p><!-- Content Image Block Template -->\n<div class=\"\n  content-image\n  content-image--fit_content  \">\n\n  <div class=\"content-image__container\">\n\n    <!-- Main Image -->\n    <div class=\"content-image__main-wrapper\">\n\n              <div class=\"\">\n              <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1828\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0843-Edit-scaled.jpg?fm=pjpg&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;s=1cf9fd29f8c385d99ab783dea6cf8974\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0843-Edit-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=300&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=214&amp;wpsize=medium&amp;s=1a885a1f6c097dafd1e1e46d342cfd99 214w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0843-Edit-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1024&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=731&amp;wpsize=large&amp;s=42daf18ad5876e702f70cbe0f66d1919 731w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0843-Edit-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1076&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=768&amp;wpsize=medium_large&amp;s=4964da34f0469b45510803ce18ce8556 768w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0843-Edit-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1536&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1097&amp;wpsize=1536x1536&amp;s=f110112ff77dc6457a446a58cf20b08d 1097w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0843-Edit-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1681&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1200&amp;wpsize=post-thumbnail&amp;s=9c6dc86d06af71ccba64276de4b01809 1200w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0843-Edit-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=2773&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1980&amp;wpsize=twentytwenty-fullscreen&amp;s=2cec442ebc05a11ec379417c552d69ca 1980w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0843-Edit-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=840&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=600&amp;wpsize=woocommerce_single&amp;s=14643621246d2144c4470e55dedd02c8 600w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0843-Edit-scaled.jpg?fm=pjpg&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;s=1cf9fd29f8c385d99ab783dea6cf8974 1828w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1828px) 100vw, 1828px\" \/>        <div class=\"content-image__overlay content-image__overlay-0\">\n        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"content-image__captions\">\n        <div class=\"content-image__main-caption\">\n          \n      <figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n        <div>A bee busy at work in the native perennial flower area in Battery Urban Farm. (Morgan Levy\/Noema Magazine)<\/div>\n      <\/figcaption>\n\n        <\/div>\n    \n      <\/div>\n\n\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-part-ii-the-garden\"><strong>Part II: The Garden<\/strong><\/h2><p>Brooklyn\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.keapfourthgarden.org\/\">Keap Fourth Community Garden<\/a> is perhaps the platonic ideal of what a community garden should be. The 2,900-square-foot plot is home to a beautiful hodgepodge of vegetables, fruits, herbs and ornamental plants. It even boasts its own apiary \u2014 a light blue box full of honeybees. Volunteers from the surrounding neighborhood all chip in to bring the plants from seeds to seedlings to their tables.<\/p><p>On the day I visit, I am greeted by Crito Thornton, a volunteer with slate gray hair and a Sun Ra t-shirt. He leads me through the garden\u2019s winding paths, pointing out beds of Swiss chard and kale, champagne currants, amaranth and a monstrous yucca. Keap Fourth has been growing fresh fruits and vegetables as part of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nycgovparks.org\/greenthumb\/\">GreenThumb<\/a>, a network of community gardens spread throughout New York City, since 2013.<\/p><p>Over the years, volunteers have slowly incorporated other non-edible plants such as irises and marigolds. These flowers may attract honeybees and human admiration, but they don\u2019t really support native insects, like leaf-cutter bees and tiger swallowtail caterpillars.<\/p><p>However, Keap Fourth is currently trying to make up ground on fostering biodiversity. While most of the garden is still dedicated to edible or ornamental plants, one shady corner is now set aside for growing native species for wild insects. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0169204624001683?via=ihub\">research<\/a>, this small change has the potential to make a huge difference.<\/p><p>When most people think of conservation, they picture huge swaths of land set aside for nature. A national park or forest, maybe a slice of private property or a public land trust \u2014 what John Muir <a href=\"https:\/\/vault.sierraclub.org\/john_muir_exhibit\/writings\/the_yosemite\/chapter_16.aspx\">called<\/a> \u201cNature\u2019s sublime wonderlands.\u201d Cities don\u2019t usually spring to mind. For certain organisms, however, urban spaces are just as important as these more traditionally protected areas.<\/p><p>Unlike mountain lions, moose or bison, many insects and small vertebrates don\u2019t need access to acres of unbroken wilderness to thrive. Even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biorxiv.org\/content\/10.1101\/2024.06.12.598424v1\">a few square meters<\/a> can provide valuable real estate for butterflies and other flying bugs, especially when those patches are dense with diverse vegetation or <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/chapter\/10.1007\/978-94-017-9852-5_9\">close to other green \u201cislands\u201d<\/a> they can easily hop to. Something as small as a window box filled with flowers can be a stepping stone.<\/p><p>Historically, environmentalists haven\u2019t factored such tiny pieces of vegetation into conservation discussions. But if gardens like Keap Fourth are any indication, that paradigm is beginning to shift.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Despite community garden gains in biodiversity, however, many still fall short as effective climate-friendly alternatives to industrial agriculture. A 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s44284-023-00023-3\">study<\/a> in Nature Cities found that urban agriculture often isn\u2019t very sustainable on smaller scales because of the unique set of challenges that city growing presents.<\/p><p>First, there\u2019s the issue of soil contamination. To grow food fit for human consumption, many city crops need to be planted in specially constructed, raised beds so that plants won\u2019t absorb things like lead, chromated copper arsenate from treated wood or acid leached from car batteries.\n          <div class=\"eos-subscribe-push\">\n            \n            <a target=\"https:\/\/shop.noemamag.com\/?utm_source=MiddleCTA&utm_medium=website\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.noemamag.com\/?utm_source=MiddleCTA&utm_medium=website\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\">Read Noema in print.<\/a>\n            \n          <\/div>\n        <\/p><p>But building temporary raised beds also expends a lot of carbon. The Battery Park Urban Farm sidestepped this problem by strategically planting above a newly excavated subway tunnel, where fresh topsoil had already been brought in to rebuild the surface. Gardens like Keap Fourth, however, must rely on raised beds to grow table-safe food.<\/p><p>Then there\u2019s the matter of scale. Industrial farms tend to be more energy and water-efficient than smaller, localized operations, simply because they are big. A mega-farm might guzzle thousands of gallons of water, but if it\u2019s producing thousands of pounds of food in return, the net consumption will be offset. It is difficult for small operations to match that efficiency, especially when their growth is hemmed in and hindered by concrete and steel.<\/p><!-- Quote Block Template -->\n\n<figure class=\"quote\">\n\n  <blockquote class=\"quote__container\">\n\n    <div class=\"quote__text\">\n      \u201cEach new urban garden is the opening up of a microhabitat for a rich tapestry of organisms \u2014 insects &#038; birds, small mammals, reptiles, a host of microbes &#038; fungi.\u201d    <\/div>\n\n    \n    <div class=\"quote__social-media\">\n      <div\n        class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_35 a2a_default_style\"\n        data-a2a-url=\"https:\/\/www.noemamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wpm-article\/73546\"\n        data-a2a-title='\u201cEach new urban garden is the opening up of a microhabitat for a rich tapestry of organisms \u2014 insects &#038; birds, small mammals, reptiles, a host of microbes &#038; fungi.\u201d'\n      >\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_facebook\"><\/a>\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_twitter\"><\/a>\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_email\"><\/a>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/blockquote>\n<\/figure><p>Finally, there\u2019s access to resources like compost and fertilizers. Applying fresh compost can dramatically <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nrdc.org\/bio\/darby-hoover\/why-compost-should-count-fertilizer#:~:text=Compost%20processes%20heat%20the%20materials,the%20need%20for%20synthetic%20fertilizer\">reduce<\/a> a garden\u2019s reliance on environmentally damaging synthetic fertilizers. Some urban community gardens can easily acquire compost through city programs, but many cannot. As a result, some well-meaning volunteers attempt composting on-site. The problem is that improperly managed compost piles can become <a href=\"https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/doi\/10.1021\/acs.est.2c05846\">sources<\/a> of greenhouse gasses rather than a way to reduce them.<\/p><p>Since Mayor Eric Adams <a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/05\/14\/mayor-eric-adams-scrapped-nycs-compost-project-heres-what-will-be-lost\/\">scrapped<\/a> funding for municipal composting programs, many NYC gardens could soon face the tough choice between shipping expensive compost in from other places, which is carbon intensive, trying to make their own, or resorting to synthetic fertilizers that can throw surrounding ecosystems out of whack.<\/p><p>Under some conditions, researchers have found that food \u2014 serving for serving \u2014&nbsp;from urban gardens can be up to six times as carbon-intensive to grow as crops on an industrial farm. Carbon-friendly food plants grown in an urban setting, like tomatoes and herbs, aren\u2019t hearty staples. They\u2019re great supplements to a summer cookout, but will never feed a family of four year-round, much less an entire city. As one urban agriculture researcher told me, \u201cYou can\u2019t feed 8 billion people on designer crops.\u201d<\/p><p>However, tallying up tomatoes and squash doesn\u2019t capture the full value of an urban community garden. These spaces aren\u2019t simply sites of food production; they also provide shade in hot summer months, absorb excess water during storms and act as social hubs in neighborhoods that otherwise offer little greenery. For denizens of areas without access to high-quality grocery produce, they can be one of the only sources of fresh fruits and vegetables around.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Keap Fourth hosts jam sessions for local musicians, art workshops and open garden nights complete with food grown on-site. It\u2019s as integral to the neighborhood as the corner bodega or the old men playing dominos on the sidewalk near the intersection.<\/p><p>However, some experts believe there may be a way to retain the benefits of community gardens while avoiding the environmental pitfalls.<\/p><!-- Content Image Block Template -->\n<div class=\"\n  content-image\n  content-image--fit_content  \">\n\n  <div class=\"content-image__container\">\n\n    <!-- Main Image -->\n    <div class=\"content-image__main-wrapper\">\n\n              <div class=\"\">\n              <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final4-scaled.jpg?fm=pjpg&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;s=27f1cedd66b862a0d2083d6178101338\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final4-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=300&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=225&amp;wpsize=medium&amp;s=6dd05b0f9e3e30a59a0c768f18f0849c 225w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final4-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1024&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=768&amp;wpsize=medium_large&amp;s=b9547819a87dcb3c172ddd63d22f898e 768w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final4-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1536&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1152&amp;wpsize=1536x1536&amp;s=8f6c587bfcd1d89afc801541857550f4 1152w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final4-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=2048&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1536&amp;wpsize=2048x2048&amp;s=a19f278a24b69f2641dc43c4e32adad6 1536w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final4-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1600&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1200&amp;wpsize=post-thumbnail&amp;s=03d884edb8370900865859321ba9d872 1200w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final4-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=2640&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1980&amp;wpsize=twentytwenty-fullscreen&amp;s=207a822b4eb8e27788f8870a1e097476 1980w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final4-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=600&amp;wpsize=woocommerce_single&amp;s=c0a6fce052edca5089a1ed700b186f51 600w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final4-scaled.jpg?fm=pjpg&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;s=27f1cedd66b862a0d2083d6178101338 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/>        <div class=\"content-image__overlay content-image__overlay-0\">\n        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"content-image__captions\">\n        <div class=\"content-image__main-caption\">\n          \n      <figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n        <div>Once a lot filled with trash, Hooper Grove Community Garden is now a thriving urban garden. (Joanna Thompson\/Noema Magazine)<\/div>\n      <\/figcaption>\n\n        <\/div>\n    \n      <\/div>\n\n\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-part-iii-the-grove\"><strong>Part III: The Grove<\/strong><\/h2><p>In the 1988 film, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0094898\/\">Coming to America<\/a>,\u201d Eddie Murphy\u2019s character <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MRhHCbG52GE\">exits<\/a> a cab by an empty lot full of flaming garbage cans on his way to rent a New York apartment. Though this scene was set in Queens, it was <a href=\"https:\/\/ny1.com\/nyc\/brooklyn\/entertainment\/2021\/03\/04\/looking-back-at-coming-to-america-s-nyc-locations\">filmed<\/a> on a Brooklyn block where a historically Puerto Rican neighborhood abuts a Hasidic Jewish community. There, Spanish, English and Hebrew mingle with reggaet\u00f3n rhythms on warm summer nights.&nbsp;<\/p><p>And that trash fire lot is now the site of a garden bursting with lush, green plants. Dubbed the Hooper Grove community garden, it has been under the auspices of GreenThumb, the nation\u2019s largest urban gardening program, since 2017.<\/p><p>Like many other local gardens, Hooper Grove is managed by neighbors who volunteer their time. When would-be gardeners first tested the soil, though, it quickly became apparent that Hooper Grove wasn\u2019t equipped to grow produce. According to a garden manager, the lot was once home to a synagogue that burned down in the 1960s. Then it became a scrap yard for car parts (and cinematic garbage can fires). Over the years, heavy metals leached into the ground, making it unfit for food production.<\/p><p>But that didn\u2019t mean its soil had to remain barren. Volunteers discovered that heartier native plants could take to the dirt and begin the process of bioremediation, drawing toxins out and breaking them down over time. The space now grows food \u2014 just not food directly meant for humans. Almost every plant at Hooper Grove is meant to be munched, sipped or lived in by native insects.<\/p><p>While visiting Hooper Grove, I\u2019m greeted by Aaron Howard, a volunteer manager with a wild beard and wide smile. Howard has been in charge of deciding what to grow in the garden for the last four years. Ever since encountering the work of Doug Tallamy, an entomologist and ecologist at the University of Delaware, he has become a passionate advocate for native plants.<\/p><p>Tallamy, along with a team of fellow researchers, helped <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/19627321\/\">develop<\/a> a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-020-19565-4\">framework<\/a> known colloquially as the \u201cLepidoptera index.\u201d This system gives the native plants in a region a score based on the number of caterpillar species they support. For example, in New York, goldenrod provides food and shelter for over 100 different caterpillars. Willows in some northeastern U.S. counties can support around 430 species, and oaks host a staggering 557, according to Tallamy. In contrast, crape myrtle, which is native to Asia, Australia and parts of Oceania, only supports a single type of American caterpillar, Tallamy told me.<\/p><!-- Quote Block Template -->\n\n<figure class=\"quote\">\n\n  <blockquote class=\"quote__container\">\n\n    <div class=\"quote__text\">\n      \u201cFor a mason bee or a chickadee, urban gardens could be the difference between life &#038; death.\u201d    <\/div>\n\n    \n    <div class=\"quote__social-media\">\n      <div\n        class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_35 a2a_default_style\"\n        data-a2a-url=\"https:\/\/www.noemamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wpm-article\/73546\"\n        data-a2a-title='\u201cFor a mason bee or a chickadee, urban gardens could be the difference between life &#038; death.\u201d'\n      >\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_facebook\"><\/a>\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_twitter\"><\/a>\n        <a class=\"a2a_button_email\"><\/a>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/blockquote>\n<\/figure><p>As adult butterflies and moths, these insects play a vital ecological role by helping pollinate native plants \u2014 including some flowers that specifically evolved to attract them. But arguably their most crucial ecological role is in the larval stage. As caterpillars, they are the single most important food source for hundreds of species, including a huge variety of birds.&nbsp;<\/p><p>According to Tallamy, it can take some 9,000 caterpillars to raise one clutch of chickadees from egg to adulthood. Without enough caterpillars to go around, he told me,&nbsp; already declining bird populations could continue to plunge in number.&nbsp;<\/p><p>Under Howard\u2019s direction, Hooper Grove volunteers took Tallamy\u2019s framework and ran with it, using the Lepidoptera index to maximize the number of bugs attracted to the garden. There are around 100 species of native plants packed into Hooper Grove\u2019s 2,341 square feet of soil. Tall tangles of goldenrod press up against aster constellations. An oak dapples shade across Virginia creepers. A riot of Joe-pye, coneflower and ironweed threatens to spill through the gate. That density might look messy to human eyes. But to an insect, it\u2019s like a city block filled with enough apartment nooks and eateries to support a community.<\/p><!-- Content Image Block Template -->\n<div class=\"\n  content-image\n  content-image--full_width  \">\n\n  <div class=\"content-image__container\">\n\n    <!-- Main Image -->\n    <div class=\"content-image__main-wrapper\">\n\n              <div class=\"aspect-ratio-wrapper\">\n              <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1828\" src=\"https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0958-Edit-scaled.jpg?fm=pjpg&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;s=8d478c0a0a4d95c28a1f2c60a3d66482\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0958-Edit-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=214&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=300&amp;wpsize=medium&amp;s=ef3e917b64c466559ad0575b2ca62aab 300w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0958-Edit-scaled.jpg?fit=crop&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=512&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1024&amp;wpsize=noema-social-twitter&amp;s=f8f2da0c7b7f1192b6330763d974d664 1024w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0958-Edit-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=548&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=768&amp;wpsize=medium_large&amp;s=151a70164ec53bdade9a4e1c986d66c4 768w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0958-Edit-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=857&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1200&amp;wpsize=post-thumbnail&amp;s=db3451543fcaf128b7d81efdf0d02b7f 1200w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0958-Edit-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1097&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1536&amp;wpsize=1536x1536&amp;s=475640948d7de6bcc316da14e04f4b28 1536w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0958-Edit-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1462&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=2048&amp;wpsize=2048x2048&amp;s=fe258814cd257c60f3935c3ac186e28c 2048w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0958-Edit-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1414&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1980&amp;wpsize=twentytwenty-fullscreen&amp;s=8fd21d3b5f2421d9af7713635c7587d7 1980w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0958-Edit-scaled.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=428&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=600&amp;wpsize=woocommerce_single&amp;s=3550dee68e329b3e72e5ece921af1052 600w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/MorganLevy_53A0958-Edit-scaled.jpg?fm=pjpg&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;s=8d478c0a0a4d95c28a1f2c60a3d66482 2560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/>        <div class=\"content-image__overlay content-image__overlay-0\">\n        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"content-image__captions\">\n        <div class=\"content-image__main-caption\">\n          \n      <figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n        <div>Ella Lang, one of Battery Urban Farm\u2019s Educators, watering a plant bed. Dedicated workers and volunteers are crucial to supporting biodiversity growth in urban gardens. (Morgan Levy\/Noema Magazine)<\/div>\n      <\/figcaption>\n\n        <\/div>\n    \n      <\/div>\n\n\n<\/div><p>Of course, the garden isn\u2019t a perfect Eden. Volunteers sometimes must remove beer cans and occasionally toss a rat off the premises with a shovel. Stray cats still wander through in search of an easy meal.<\/p><p>As the years go on, though, Hooper Grove has attracted an increasingly rich array of organisms. Howard has spotted hummingbirds and red admiral butterflies flitting between the flowers. The low drone of bees (Howard has counted nearly 200 different species) fills the air. Warblers and swallows make pit stops each migration season, while cardinals and sparrows dart through the trees year-round. Last year, he tells me, they finally built up enough leaf litter for fireflies to move in.<\/p><p>To my ears, this inclusion sounds almost too good to be true; I grew up in an area famous for its fireflies, and I\u2019d seen precious few since moving to New York. But Howard encourages me to come back and check for them one evening, and I make a mental note to do just that.<\/p><p>City living is all about embracing diversity and doing the most with whatever sliver of space you can carve out. Perhaps conservation efforts in urban spaces should adopt a similar scrappy mindset. Each new garden is the opening up of a microhabitat for a rich tapestry of organisms \u2014 insects and birds, small mammals, reptiles, a host of microbes and fungi.<\/p><p>Areas like Hooper Grove provide the shade, the water-collection and the carbon-storage benefits of a conventional garden, while also supporting biodiversity. They\u2019re a small way to practice Leopold\u2019s land ethic amidst a sea of concrete. And not every urban garden needs to be completely dedicated to caterpillars. Setting aside a slice for native plants \u2014 as Keap Fourth and the Battery Urban Farm have done \u2014 can serve as an equally vital source of food and shelter for local species.<\/p><p>At the same time, there is no silver bullet for climate change and biodiversity loss. Simply cultivating native plants won\u2019t save the world; like any other environmental solution, urban gardens have potential pitfalls, and they won\u2019t stop fossil fuel companies from burning through our planet\u2019s lifeblood. But for a mason bee or a chickadee, they could be the difference between life and death.<\/p><p>Planting gardens not just for ourselves, but also for our fellow members of the natural world creates space for other creatures to flourish, even in the dense heart of America\u2019s largest city. I want to get to know my neighbors, human and otherwise.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-part-iv-coda\"><strong>Part IV: Coda<\/strong><\/h2><p>One June evening, I found myself wandering down the Hooper Grove block while on a long phone call with a good friend. It was a near-perfect New York night; warm, but not yet thick with summer humidity. As I passed the community garden, a twinkle caught my eye.&nbsp;<\/p><p>At first, I thought it was a strand of fairy lights twining up a neighbor\u2019s tree. But the light wasn\u2019t steady enough \u2014 this was more flicker than glow. Then I looked more closely at the neighbor\u2019s wrought iron fence. A single orange-and-black firefly was perched on top of it. It flashed once, then spread its wings and vanished into the fading light.<\/p><!-- Content Image Block Template -->\n<div class=\"\n  content-image\n  content-image--full_width  \">\n\n  <div class=\"content-image__container\">\n\n    <!-- Main Image -->\n    <div class=\"content-image__main-wrapper\">\n\n              <div class=\"aspect-ratio-wrapper\">\n              <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2100\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final3.jpg?fm=pjpg&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;s=650f45102273bdd203f992aeb2495ea5\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final3.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=214&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=300&amp;wpsize=medium&amp;s=4c01df0556112d8a68fa3cbdc631f717 300w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final3.jpg?fit=crop&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=512&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1024&amp;wpsize=noema-social-twitter&amp;s=e3f436cb4c39236a587ae9436ccd331f 1024w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final3.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=549&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=768&amp;wpsize=medium_large&amp;s=8606527bf0c9f29b1b5aa719241589be 768w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final3.jpg?fm=pjpg&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;s=650f45102273bdd203f992aeb2495ea5 2100w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final3.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=857&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1200&amp;wpsize=post-thumbnail&amp;s=a758ec5e504d855a4fb0810b5128ca16 1200w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final3.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1097&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1536&amp;wpsize=1536x1536&amp;s=617ee703d74f2846ab96c16ce94231bb 1536w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final3.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1463&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=2048&amp;wpsize=2048x2048&amp;s=0edd5381cf138b380be0200ff203d829 2048w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final3.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=1414&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=1980&amp;wpsize=twentytwenty-fullscreen&amp;s=d5bdd94f97dfddc47caaa51a3386d786 1980w, https:\/\/noemamag.imgix.net\/2024\/08\/Joanna-Final3.jpg?fit=scale&amp;fm=pjpg&amp;h=429&amp;ixlib=php-3.3.1&amp;w=600&amp;wpsize=woocommerce_single&amp;s=858698fba3d8f71aee4ba1cbbc584a13 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2100px) 100vw, 2100px\" \/>        <div class=\"content-image__overlay content-image__overlay-0\">\n        <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <\/div>\n\n  <div class=\"content-image__captions\">\n        <div class=\"content-image__main-caption\">\n          \n      <figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n        <div>A firefly found resting near Hooper Grove Community Garden. 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