Chickens Fly the Rural Coop

Few people who move to New York City expect to awaken to clucking hens, or have their neighbor bring over warm, freshly laid eggs as a welcome. But that’s what’s happening on Dean Street in the North Crown Heights section of Brooklyn.

SLIDE SHOW: Chickens and the City

The Walt L. Shamel (Dean North) Community Garden started raising chickens, for their eggs, last fall. The garden is a part of the Green Thumb community garden system, which is run by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. As a member of Green Thumb, the gardens’ main goals are to help feed the community and education neighbors on eating fresh, healthy foods. Anyone can become a member of the garden by paying small fees and taking a part in the care of the land. Members host open hours for neighbors to use and enjoy the garden.

“I just find it interesting the way people don’t really make the connection between food and animals,” said Greg Anderson, primary caretaker and member of the Walt L. Shamel Community Garden.

Cities across the U.S., including Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, allow residents to raise chickens in their backyard, a trend that is growing by the day. Within the past month, Durham, N.C., and Portland, Maine, passed laws allowing residents to keep hens.

The act of raising chickens in city lots and backyards is not only bringing fresh eggs to people, it’s bringing people closer to nature and each other. Anderson has had school groups to the garden to teach young people about food production and healthy eating. He hopes to hold more workshops in the spring.

“In an urban setting it’s so interesting to see how engaging animals are, especially for youth,” said field coordinator for Heifer International in Brooklyn, Aley Kent.

Highlighting its urban location, the Shamel garden is just behind the Bedford-Atlantic Armory. The Armory currently houses a men’s homeless shelter the city is proposing to make it the main homeless intake center for the city, which has caused uproar throughout the neighborhood. Sometimes the men spend time in the garden when they are sent out of the shelter every morning.

There are specific concerns that arise when dealing with keeping livestock in a city. Noise complaints are more likely in a city. The Shamel Garden members worry that nearby feral cats will get into the chicken coop. Others have vermin problems that are accentuated by the city environment.

Community gardens have been growing fruit and vegetables for many years. Raising livestock is beginning to take hold as a way to get fresh, local food, especially to neighborhoods that don’t have easy access to healthy food.

“People are more aware and more people are finding out it’s legal,” said Anderson.

Tags: chickens, city chickens, community gardens, food education, fresh food, hens, local food, Urban Farming, youth empowerment

This entry was posted on Monday, March 16th, 2009 at 12:35 pm and is filed under Brooklyn, Urban Farming. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.