Franklin Matters: Community Garden (OPENING - Today) - Parks opening next week (with restrictions)

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Community Garden (OPENING - Today) - Parks opening next week (with restrictions)

Good Morning,

Tomorrow (Weds, May 20) is the first day the Community garden will be open. Water should be turned on this week. Barricades should be moved from the entrance to the inside the park to block only the playground/ball field area. For now, parks and playgrounds still remain closed, although we are making the Community garden available to you folks.

Next Monday, we will be removing all barricades around Town and opening parks with restrictions in place. I wanted to make sure you all received the attachment I provided last week, so I'm including it in the body of the email. Have fun and please be safe.

Franklin Community Gardening during COVID-19

Franklin Community Gardens offer many benefits which include socialization, exercise, and the production and consumption of nutritious, fresh and locally grown herbs and vegetables. Beginning Wednesday, May 20, we will open the Community Garden to one member per garden bed for their maintenance.

Garden access will be restricted to no more than 5 gardeners at one time. It is important to understand the state guidelines (https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-updates-and-information) regarding social distancing and proper hygiene. (These regulations also are subject to change amid fluid developments.)

This guide offers ideas and guidance on:

Best practices for community garden management during the COVID-19 pandemic
Additional cleaning/sanitation precautions to utilize in the Franklin community gardens
Recommendations on being a safe, responsible visitor at the Franklin community garden.

Following these recommendations, along with the use of common sense and caution, can increase the likelihood that our community garden will remain accessible.

In such a public setting, the Centers for Disease Control now recommends wearing cloth face coverings. For a guide on how to create your own cloth face coverings, visit the CDC website (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html).

Best Practices for Community Garden Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Franklin Community Garden is considered an essential space; garden members should immediately implement the following practices:

Garden members must wear masks or cloth covering at all times, along with gloves.
DO not visit the garden if you feel ill, have tested positive for COVID-19 within the last two weeks or have had known contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 within the last two weeks
Leave garden gates open during hours of operation to avoid frequent contact. No need to keep opening and closing gates, unless you are the last one to leave later in the day.
Avoid use of public benches or picnic tables
Limit the size of work groups to 5 people or fewer inside the fenced area
If folks cannot police this themselves, we may be forced to stagger times for arrival and availability to reduce crowds
Social distancing guidelines of remaining at least 6 feet apart at all times
If members have them, please bring your own tools or make certain you wear gloves while using. We will have cleaning supplies in the shed and we expect anyone that uses a tool will sanitize before and after use.
We would appreciate folks helping with the following.