WASHINGTON — Newark Park and the Newark Street Community Garden, tucked away behind the Second District Police Station, feature flower and vegetable gardens, tennis courts, a dog park, educational opportunities for children and a strong sense of community. The 200-plot urban garden, with a two-year waitlist, is also the largest community garden in the district.
The community garden features sheds full of gardening tools and three composting bins, which Susan Akman, a longtime gardener, describes as “state-of-the-art composting.”
People grow garlic, radishes, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, beans, blackberries, raspberries, kale and bitter melon. Plots are separated from each other and marked by green posts with numbers painted on them in white.
Newark Park also has three pristine tennis courts, surrounded by trees and isolated from the noise of cars on busy Wisconsin Avenue.
The board of directors and other active volunteers also provide educational opportunities.They teach gardening, and enlighten kids on the animals in the park, including the deer, squirrels and even the occasional foxes that go through the park.
Akman said gardeners range from 18 months to 95 years old, as both experienced and inexperienced are welcome. And many in the community bring plants and ideas from their native countries, including Portugal and Lithuania.