Steve Frillmann.

With what environmental organization are you affiliated?

I am the executive director of Green Guerillas, New York City's oldest community-gardening group.

What does your organization do?

At Green Guerillas, we help people carry out their visions for what community gardens can be in a dense, vibrant urban area -- urban farms, botanic gardens, performance spaces, community centers, lungs that help the city breathe.

Some of our activities are fairly simple, like giving gardeners a few seedlings. Some are very complex, like organizing coalitions or helping grassroots leaders fight to protect gardens from development.

New Yorkers appreciating a community garden.

Photo: Green Guerillas.

There are 600 community gardens in NYC, and none of them are "Green Guerillas" gardens. They were all created through the hard work and ingenuity of grassroots volunteers, and they are all independently cultivated. Numerous nonprofits and foundations also support the work of community-garden groups, so we are one part of the puzzle.

How do you get to work?

I take two subway trains.

What long and winding road led you to your current position?

In my earlier days, I volunteered for the Coalition for the Homeless and organized an association of store owners in a historic Brooklyn neighborhood. Then I ran a program of training workshops and small grants for grassroots groups, including community-garden groups. That's what led me to Green Guerillas.

I am not a gardener myself, and I was not really attracted to Green Guerillas because of the positive environmental impact of community gardens. I was interested in helping community gardeners as neighborhood leaders and community builders. I believed community gardening was the most unique community-development tool I had ever seen. It's been 10 years, and nothing has shaken that belief.

Where were you born? Where do you live now?

New York City -- I was born in Queens and now live in Manhattan.

What environmental offense has infuriated you the most?

When then-mayor Rudy Giuliani attempted to sell 115 community gardens to the highest bidders in 1999. Luckily his desire was not realized.

Who is your environmental hero?

There are dozens of community gardeners in New York City who are my heroes. The work they have done -- often against all odds -- is remarkable.

What's your environmental vice?

I am a city kid -- if I can't have concrete under my feet, I need lots of it nearby.

How do you spend your free time (if you have any)?

Walking on the above-mentioned concrete, with my head up, looking for adventures.

What's your favorite meal?

Chipirones (squid in black ink), salad, crunchy bread, red wine.

Which stereotype about environmentalists most fits you?

I believe that big business and most politicians will not act in a way that's good for the earth unless forced to.

If you could institute by fiat one environmental reform, what would it be?

I would create a program in every city that would ensure small-scale community-initiated projects -- such as community gardens, rooftop gardens, neighborhood farmers' markets, etc. -- have all the funding and legitimacy they needed to succeed.

If you could have every InterActivist reader do one thing, what would it be?

Whatever your cause -- stand your ground, pitch a tent, and invite people in who are willing to do hard work: wild-eyed idealists, pragmatists, activists, lawyers, planners. Don't get too caught up on consensus, and don't get discouraged by conflict. You can get a lot done together while disagreeing on important points along the way.

Steve Frillmann, executive director of Green Guerillas.

All About Steve

I'd love to hear a juicy story of how community gardening is a tool for community development. Would you share one?    -- Lisa Gelczis, Flagstaff, Ariz.

Just this past summer, Green Guerillas cut the lock off the fence of a once-vibrant community garden that had fallen into disrepair. We put up fliers, knocked on doors, and went to community meetings to drum up interest. Community members, a teacher in the school across the street, and a social service center for formerly homeless people answered the call. In one growing season, they transformed the site into a garden together. This year, they are hatching plans to green an entire part of the neighborhood and train youth from the local housing project along the way. All that energy was there, looking for a concrete project to harness it. We just took some organizing, a little guidance, a few hundred dollars in materials, added water, and watched the project grow.

I have an idea for growing organic veggies for a local homeless-assistance meal program by creating a network of gardens on the property of local churches. Many churches in my area hardly utilize their property except for mowing. Got any advice?    -- Joel Tippens, Daytona Beach, Fla.

We helped get a project like this off the ground -- the Greens for Queens Urban Farm. You should reach out to them for advice and support. Our advice? To make a church-based garden work, the congregation needs to be involved in every aspect and involved all week long -- not just after church on Sunday.

You say tomato, I say community gardening is fun for all ages.

Where do you think environmentalists and social-justice advocates can find common cause?    -- Grist editors

Many of the community gardeners we work with cleaned out vacant lots full of materials and activities that nobody wanted on their street. They weren't necessarily acting as environmentalists or garden advocates. Community gardening was the tool they had to bring their neighbors together to make their neighborhoods a little safer, a bit more humane. So we encourage them to tell their stories to everyone who will listen -- the common cause is right there to be found, in those stories.

What are some of the best ways to expand community garden programs throughout the states?    -- Jim Prues, Cincinnati, Ohio

The American Community Gardening Association can help you get started, expand, or develop strategies to fight City Hall. ACGA has publications, workshops, and an incredibly skilled group of people who serve as board and staff. They also have a listing of community gardens by state.

It all starts locally. Get widespread community support and educate the powers-that-be about the contributions you and your fellow gardeners make to strengthen neighborhoods.

Harvesting fresh veggies -- and a good time -- at Pleasant Park Garden in East Harlem.

Are most of the plants and seeds from the Guerillas organic? If so, can you explain a bit about how plants can be organic in a city with air pollution?    -- Liz Falk, Washington, D.C.

We distribute organic seeds to gardeners, but we do not require gardeners to use organic practices in order to receive help from us. And you raise an interesting point: Could a truly urban farm be certified organic? There are some people out there whose focus on food and organics is deeper than ours -- in New York City, it's Just Food.

What are your recommendations for governance of community gardens?    -- Albert Johnson, Southfield, Mich.

There is definitely no "cookie-cutter" solution to the issue of garden governance. We work with community garden groups who have formal bylaws, regular meetings, and membership dues. Other groups have functioned for years with much looser arrangements. What seems to work best is when the structure fits the gardening group and has not been imposed on the group by an outside force or by one person.

What do you do to settle the big personality squabbles that occur over small things -- turf battles over plots or produce, or time with the hose?    -- Kelly Clark, Carson City, Nev.

Garden groups that hold to a few important core beliefs (that transcend squabbles and the rules designed to suppress them) tend to stick together in the long run and buy themselves the time they need to develop an appreciation for alternative points of view.

What is truly the potential of growing substantial food on the roof of a building that was not designed to hold such heavy loads of soil? Do you think roof gardens can be taken to their fullest extent only on new buildings that are constructed with these gardens in mind?    -- Liz Falk, Washington, D.C.

Obviously, urban centers with old buildings will present challenges for rooftop gardening. Currently, our energies are focused on ground-level gardens, so we definitely are not experts on rooftop food growing. In New York City, there are a few groups people can turn to such as Sustainable South Bronx and Earth Pledge Foundation. The City of Chicago also has a green roofs initiative.

I know the Green Guerillas were founded in 1973 by Liz Christy. What is happening with the garden on Bowery & Houston named in her honor?    -- Donald Loggins, Brooklyn, N.Y.

The gardeners who cultivate the Liz Christy garden have had their fair share of challenges lately. Their beautiful garden is in the middle of a large urban redevelopment plan that includes new housing, retail space, and a community center. They fought hard to get their garden preserved, negotiating with the city and the developer to put a protection plan in place and obtaining a capital fund that will be used to revitalize the garden once construction is completed. For now, they are just working to keep their garden alive next to an enormous construction site.

Did you attend the 2005 American Community Gardening Association conference in the Twin Cities? If so, was there anything that really stuck with you upon returning to New York City that transformed the way your organization operates?    -- Jackie McGraw, St. Paul, Minn.

I didn't get a chance to attend, but other Green Guerillas did. They were especially struck by how open and available to the community the gardens are in Minneapolis. And they talked about how other groups in other cities do a great job of getting good feedback from people about why they value community gardens, even if they are not involved. We can always do a better job of that in NYC.

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