Community Gardening: An Opportunity for Collaboration Between Wagner Farm and Wagner Farm Rescue Fund

In the December 24th edition of the Wagner Farm Rescue Fund Animal Prints, we noted that Wagner Farm Rescue Fund is part of the Glenview (IL) community and would like to be able to praise, rather than have to condemn, Wagner Farm programs.

While the supporters of our non-profit organization have the right and need to be informed of news related in any manner to Wagner Farm Rescue Fund, the community of Glenview, and our animal protection mission, and while inhumane programming too often causes the need for confrontation, it is preferable to Wagner Farm Rescue Fund to instead be collaborative and publicize news of a positive nature.

Just a week later we are able to do this in regard to a newspaper story containing information about the new expanded community gardening program at Wagner Farm.

While this gardening program does not address the animal welfare issues and programming at Wagner Farm that Wagner Farm Rescue Fund has been concerned with over the past ten years, the addition of a community interactive program that does not suggest any conflict with animal welfare concerns is an example of the kind of positive, humane programming that Wagner Farm Rescue Fund has been referring to and needs to be encouraged.

It has been publicized that beginning with the Spring 2012 season, residents will be able to rent garden plots at Wagner Farm by the season and will make their own growing selections. An additional publicized bonus is that the gardens will be organic.

While the mission of Wagner Farm Rescue Fund does not specifically include issues of gardening per se, such an endeavor as that of a community garden does reflect the Wagner Farm Rescue Fund mission in terms of the need for humane programs to be the kind that are developed and implemented at Wagner Farm. A community garden is such an example of humane programming.

Wagner Farm Rescue Fund has also previously and ongoing publicized its desire for collaborative and cooperative efforts between itself and Wagner Farm, as that has been the intent since the inception of Wagner Farm Rescue Fund. The protection by Wagner Farm Rescue Fund of the animals associated with Wagner Farm and a positive relationship between Wagner Farm Rescue Fund and Wagner Farm not only does not have to be mutually exclusive, but should not be and should instead be a joint effort as well.

This is also an example that it takes a spirit of cooperation between all parties involved for there to be a collaborative outcome.

The new community garden and opportunity for related programs in terms of humane food production and donation is an opportunity for Wagner Farm to take a step toward collaboration with us and work with Wagner Farm Rescue Fund on a joint program in relation to the community garden.

Therefore, this suggestion by Wagner Farm Rescue Fund for a collaborative, cooperative effort is now publicly extended to Wagner Farm, and Wagner Farm has the opportunity to respond to us in kind and have this be a positive step in another kind of positive community interaction besides the garden - that of one jointly and ongoing between Wagner Farm Rescue Fund and Wagner Farm, in a continuation of positive news and humane programs.

Information on the community garden can be found at:

http://www.glenviewlantern.com/Articles-News-c-2011-12-26-233873.114133-Community-garden-coming-to-Wagner-Farm.html

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Wagner Farm Rescue Fund is the sister organization of Have A Heart Farm

www.wagnerfarmrescuefund.org

www.haveaheartfarm.org