Community Spotlight: Zhenia Nagorny

Photo credit: Alexis Holloway

WELCOME TO MAPLE STREET COMMUNITY GARDEN’S FIRST COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT!

This series celebrates all the incredible people who help make the garden a success and share some of their stories with you.

With that in mind, meet Zhenia Nagorny (she/her), co-chair of Maple Street Community Garden’s Compost and Communications Committees, and co-founder of the Uprooting Racism Task Force!

Nagorny joined the garden in April 2016, and has been a passionate garden volunteer ever since.

“I am in awe of the magic that happens in the garden, both what is growing in the garden beds and the ideas and visions that manifest when we come together as a community that cares,” she wrote. 

Her favorite garden memories include teaching children about compost; compost orientation for new garden folks; hanging out with Fresh Food Box staff; and summer potlucks, where she can eat, talk, laugh and get to know her neighbors and greater community. Each Saturday, compost volunteers collect anywhere from 500 to 800 pounds of food scraps or garbage that would otherwise fill up landfills and pollute communities that are already disenfranchised. Nagorny believes the hard work fosters connection between volunteers and the community, who come through the gates of Maple Street Garden to learn about organics recycling, and potentially become ambassadors of that education in their own lives.

“There is deep purpose in the physical labor that we take on and when we do it with intention and presence, there is so much trust, connection and a sense of belonging that grows from that,” Nagorny wrote. 

Reflecting on her years in the garden, Nagorny acknowledged it has enriched her life in myriad ways.

“The garden is a microcosm of a community. Paying attention, listening, honoring others, honoring the cycles and the season are all asked of us as garden members,” she wrote. “It has shown me in so many ways that I can be present to all these ways of being with myself and my community.”

If you'd like to be featured in our Community Spotlight series, or know someone who would, please email maple3garden@gmail.com.