Nonprofit VINES upgrades garden beds at Otsiningo Park

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (WBNG) — Members of Volunteers Improving Neighborhood Environments (VINES) took on a major accessibility upgrade at the Otsiningo Park Community Garden on Saturday, April 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Volunteers spent time constructing 26 new raised garden beds, making 12 of them wheelchair accessible. This upgrade will open the garden to community members of all ages and mobility levels, according to VINES.

“Those are built in such a way that people with walkers, with wheelchairs, or people who just can’t, you know, bend over and garden can access them. You can stand up. You can reach all parts of them,” said Johan Jelsma, community gardens program manager of VINES.

Saturday’s project built on prior work, in which 16 older beds were removed and a new accessible surface was installed to accommodate wheelchair-friendly plots.

“You can roll right under them with a wheelchair and reach all parts of the garden bed and garden comfortably at them,” Jelsma said.

VINES is partnering with Southern Tier Independence Center, Community Options and other local organizations to connect program members with garden access.

“One of the goals that we have as VINES is to help individuals get past barriers or remove as many barriers as possible as we can to accessing fresh food,” Jelsma said. “Whether that’s, you know, growing produce at an urban farm and distributing low-cost produce to those in need at significant discounts. Or having people be able to grow stuff for themselves and their household in a neighborhood community garden.”

Founded in 2007 to combat food insecurity in Greater Binghamton, VINES has grown from building its first community gardens into a nonprofit organization that currently supports 23 community gardens and various food-access programs.

As part of its Grow Binghamton youth employment program, launched in 2012, VINES is working at the Otsiningo Park Community Garden to replace aging raised beds that date back to 1996.

The new beds will be available for rent this season. Interested gardeners can apply on VINES’ website or request a paper application by calling or texting (607) 205-8108.