Photos courtesy of Michael Carelli
By Steve Sears
Something new will soon sprout in the Township of Riverdale. A community garden, available for Riverdale residents to rent a plot for their personal use for the entire
growing season, was Initially discussed earlier this year by the Sustainable Riverdale Green Team
Members Michael Carelli and Todd Urban. There will be raised beds, ADA compliant beds, and salad
tabletop beds. Also, a raspberry trellis is being discussed, too, and nearby picnic tables will also be part
of the landscape.
If all goes well, and the borough receives the Sustainable Jersey Grant and the Board of Education and
Borough Council both approve the project, the garden construction will most likely begin in June 2021
and be unveiled by end of July 2021.
For Carelli, a Riverdale resident who works full-time as Assistant to the Borough Administrator in the
Borough of Oakland (but also serves as Public Information Officer and Green Team Chair in Riverdale),
community gardens are familiar territory. He recently worked on getting one installed at Oakland
Borough Hall.
He explains the proposed Riverdale project. “The borough is enrolled in Sustainable Jersey, which is a
rigorous program in which municipalities earn points through completing actions such as electric vehicle
charging stations, community gardens, the arts, health and wellness, and much more. The Borough of
Riverdale is aiming for bronze certification which is worth 150 points or higher, and silver certification is
350 points or higher. It is incredibly hard to reach even bronze as many actions are required and a lot of
hard work and dedication is involved in such certification. The community garden action is one of the
easier ‘high points’ actions to knock off our list first before tackling other items.”
The proposed location of the Riverdale Community Garden would be at the Riverdale Senior Community
Center at the old abandoned bocce ball courts. The area, open and not currently used, appears to be an
adequate location, especially given that the Riverdale Food Pantry is located at the Community Center.
“The garden would provide a free plot for the food pantry, which would assist in providing free produce
to the food pantry clients,” says Carelli. Free plots would also be given to the Riverdale School, especially
since the garden is on school property. “The Sustainable Riverdale Green Team,” adds Carelli, “went
before the Board of Education to present the idea in the summer and will be back for final approval in
order to submit a grant application to Sustainable Jersey. The Green Team plans on applying for a
Sustainable Jersey grant in the amount of $20,000.00 to fund the project. Discussions over plot size,
amount of plots, and placement is underway between the Sustainable Riverdale Green Team and the
Board of Education. The proposed garden would be fenced in to keep critters out, most likely a sprinkler
system, and security to ensure only renters of plots will have access along with our non-profit partners.”
Anyone from the community can get involved, and those interested can join the Sustainable Riverdale
Green Team’s first kickoff meeting on Monday October 19, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. on Zoom. Email Michael
Carelli for the link at mcarelli@riverdalenj.gov. Also, currently just a group of four, new members are welcome. Those interested in volunteering, specifically on projects including the community garden,
health and wellness, electric vehicle charging stations, the arts, and much more, may contact Carelli.
health and wellness, electric vehicle charging stations, the arts, and much more, may contact Carelli.
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