Donor Spotlight | Community Gardener Greg Wiseman

From the time I was old enough to stick a seed in the ground, I’ve loved gardening. As a young kid in Indiana, I helped plant, maintain, and harvest the large garden that fed my family through the summer and winter. Our weekend home in Southampton didn’t have a good place for a vegetable garden, so I was thrilled when I learned that we could sign up for a plot in the community garden area of Bridge Gardens. We joined immediately and I started dreaming about the bountiful harvests to come!

I love Bridge Gardens because it shows how conservation can work for both nature and people. Native trees, shrubs and perennials provide a natural habitat for our local birds and pollinators. At the same time, the garden gives people a beautiful place to walk, garden, paint, or listen to live music with a picnic on a summer night. The programs that bring in children and adults to learn about nature and simply enjoy the property are a wonderful resource to the entire Long Island community.

Bridge Gardens and its Garden Director, Rick Bogusch, are constantly evolving the property to better serve the community and natural ecosystem. The organic fresh produce that Rick and his team grow for local food pantries helps address food insecurity while simultaneously providing food for pollinators and other insects. Plus, parts of what was originally a broad lawn are being converted to a native meadow, a stand of fruit trees, and more community garden plots!

My support of the Peconic Land Trust and Bridge Gardens fits with my goals of achieving local conservation success along with national and international conservation. Preserving our local history, the continuity of family farming, and public green space will help us maintain the beauty of the East End - and access to fresh food! These are the very reasons why so many people love and are drawn to this beautiful place.

I wish that more people were aware of the breadth of the work of the Trust. Many people know about the Trust’s achievements in land conservation, but they’re not aware of (and missing out on!) the many, many programs and projects that the Trust provides. Nature walks, paddle trips, educational events, and even vegetable gardening are just a few of the many programs that the Trust offers. I encourage everyone to leverage the access to nature and education that Peconic Land Trust provides!

We are thankful to Greg Wiseman for sharing his story and garden photos with us and being a Bridge Gardens member since 2017. Interested in supporting the Peconic Land Trust through a garden membership? Contact Amanda Abraham, Director of Development, for more information about Bridge Gardens and how you can become a member.