About Growing Love Community Garden

Teresa Peterson; Garden Educator

Teresa (Tess) Peterson is an avid gardener and nature enthusiast. She brings nine years of plant-growing experience and five years in the

green industry to Growing Love Community Garden, including roles as a greenhouse manager, lead intern at the Long Island Native Plant Initiative, and horticultural assistant. She is passionate about self-sustainability, native flora and fauna, and gardening, and enjoys birdwatching, bug pinning, and collecting houseplants.

Tess is getting her Bachelors in Horticulture from Farmingdale State University, and has taken classes on a wide range of topics, such as Entomology, Sustainability, and Arboriculture. Tess contributes skills in native plants, community engagement, and landscape maintenance.

Teresa's Goals for The Garden

My main goal is to manage the compost systems within the garden. The current 3-bin system has been rejuvenated and, with proper maintenance, will produce approximately 50 cubic feet of compost twice a year. A new vermicompost system will be implemented to provide a variety of education topics in compost.

I also plan to work with the board to provide workshops on different topics, not only compost but also water management, the benefits of native plants, entomology, and more. My main passion and focus is to increase sustainable gardening locally, and hosting these educational opportunities is a fantastic way to engage community members of all ages in sustainable practices.

As sustainability is concerned, I would like to create an integrated pest management (IPM) plan that will help to reduce the pest load in the garden while increasing the beneficial organism capacity. IPM plans decrease the labor load when dealing with pests, and focuses on properly identifying and monitoring pests in order to avoid the use of pesticides, organic or not.

Apart from compost and sustainability, I want Growing Love Community Garden to become even more of an urban oasis. Proper plant selection, neatly maintained planting beds, and continued community engagement will help to further foster our relationship with Manorhaven and beyond.

Compost

Rejuvenate 3-bin system
Manage compost donations
Launch new vermicompost system

Educate

Plan and initiate gardening classes for all ages
Utilizing compost systems
Native plants, ecology, entomology, sustainability, etc.

Maintain

Keep gardens looking neat and presentable
Keep compost area free of excessive debris or weeds
Provide advice for community members to maintain presentable beds Monitor
Create and implement IPM plan that aligns with needs of GLCG as well as that of the local ecology

Design

Work with board to select the right plant for the right place in all aspects of the garden - Consider and implement garden designs that improve the appearance, functionality, and/or sustainability of GLCG