TEMPLE-BEAUDRY : Ground Broken for Community Garden

Right now, 1644 Beverly Blvd. is a dusty lot scattered with pebbles and a few newly planted trees. That is an improvement over its appearance a few weeks ago, when it was filled with illegally dumped trash, tall grass and weeds.

But the staff and friends of Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), a multiservice community agency, have even bigger plans for the 130-by-95-foot lot. Last week, the agency broke ground for a community garden it hopes will produce not only fruits and vegetables, but also cooperative relationships between youths and older residents of the community.

“This area is historically known as Pilipinotown,” Joel Jacinto, SIPA’s executive director, said at last week’s ceremony. “People talk about roots, well, we’re trying to lay some roots here today.”

The project is funded with a $51,700 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which will be matched by money raised by SIPA. Additional money and support will be provided by the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, a federally funded program that matches senior citizens with community service projects.

Marcy O’Ward, director of the volunteer program, plans to recruit at least 10 people 60 and older to work with project manager Gus Poe and teach gardening skills to young people. O’Ward said she hopes to attract several Filipino veterans of World War II and perhaps some local grandmothers experienced in tending gardens.

Dr. Carmencita Chuateco, who owns a medical clinic across the street, donated the lot for the garden after she suspended plans to develop the land. The garden is named in honor of her youngest daughter, Candy.

“This is a perfect location because it’s just down the block from Belmont High School,” said Teresa Vallente, a SIPA project coordinator. “A lot of students will be walking home from school, see the garden and maybe want to help out.”

Vallente said the garden will have an international flavor, with volunteers from various ethnic backgrounds and a mixture of fruits and vegetables, including such Filipino crops as umpalaya (a bitter melon) and upo (a squash).

The people who work in the garden will decide whether they want to keep their harvest, sell it, donate it to low-income families in the area or serve it at community dinners, Vallente said.

Poe said a load of donated topsoil will complete preparations for the garden, which will include 31 trees bearing apples, plums, apricots and peaches.

Kathy Uy, 17, said she wants to plant pumpkins, watermelons and carrots, though she is not quite sure if she has a green thumb. “I’m going to learn,” she said.

Information: (213) 382-1819.