Many an idea has been pondered over a good beer, but not all come to fruition. Fortunately, for East Side residents, CUFF (Curtis Urban Farm Foundation) is one such brainchild that is in the process of solidifying itself as one of the primary urban farming organizations in a neglected Buffalo neighborhood.
Several of the organization’s founders met, several years ago, for a casual beer at 222 Gibson Street (next to the Broadway Market) to discuss progress and needs on the East Side. CUFF began through the brainstorming efforts of these horticulture and East side enthusiasts who began proposing uses for the huge number of vacant lots in the area, one of the highest concentrations of vacant properties in Buffalo.
The seed of an idea seems to have blossomed and while CUFF may not be one of the first urban garden initiatives in Buffalo, it is one of the first on the East Side. CUFF is an attempt to grow a grass roots effort, literally and figuratively, into something that its founders hope will “increase food security, improve economic self-sufficiency and increase access to healthy food for East Side residents.”
According to Erwin Rakoczy, one of the founding members, the group that finally emerged has been “a coming together of like minds.” CUFF’s members include Rakoczy, Dave Majewski, Yuri Hreshehyshyn, Pat Braun and Bernadette Pawlak–all of whom have been involved in East Side revitalization efforts in some capacity for years.
Several weeks ago CUFF, with the help of dozens of volunteers (mostly from Buffalo State), planted over 200 blueberry bushes (and will have planted close to 400 by the time they are done) and 50 black currant bushes at the corner of Clark Street and Peckham; a project that doesn’t look like much now but will bear bushels of fruit in one to two years. They also plan to plant gooseberries, elderberries, grapes, sunflowers and even a few apple trees.
Their efforts to plant berries and flowers on vacant lots differs from what some might think of as traditional gardening, but it is an approach that they see as more sustainable than, for example, a tomato or vegetable garden, which need a high degree of monitoring. Many berry bushes can be started and left alone until it is time to pick fruit in the fall– a key component to the sustainability of these projects.
Rakoczy will tell you that the city if full of underutilized resources and that they are on a mission to find them, use them, and redesign them into something usable and sustainable. “There has been a lot of tearing down on the East Side,” he said, but goes onto explain that the vacant space is ripe with opportunity. “Everybody thinks these things are liabilities. It’s just a matter of how much effort, talent and imagination you can bring to them.”
Through Grassroots Gardens, CUFF currently owns 30 lots on Clark, Peckham, and Memorial. About 15 of them are currently planted either with fruit or in some state of soil revitalization.
For all of its recent efforts the Curtis Urban Farm Foundation is not without critics. Some have argued that it is not safe to use vacant lots for farming–they wonder what types of residue might remain in the soil, has it been tested and is it truly healthy for farming?
Despite critics, Majewski, Rakoczy and the rest of the CUFF team are both confident and optimistic about what they are doing.
“We’ve tested the soil,” says Rakoczy, “It’s one of the first parts of the process. We are very conscious of potential impurities in some areas and are taking steps to remediate the soil. We’re taking soil samples, raising the beds and planting things like sunflowers that are remedial and help the soil. It’s a remediation process. It’s long term, and can be slow, but we believe in using this natural process and that as long as we take our time and do it right, we will be able to do more and more.”
Majewski adds that not only are they fully aware of the occasional need for remediation and testing, but that they actually invite the opportunity to do so. “We want to be able to show how such obstacles can be sustainably circumvented,” he says.
Majewski explains that in addition to the berries and flowers, CUFF is experimenting with other techniques to help revitalize the land. He jokes that the occasional passer-by likely thinks they are simply planting grass, but that they are actually growing clover, buckwheat, alfalfa and wildflowers.
“Everything we’re doing is remedial and has a dual purpose (to beautify and remediate),” he says. “What is being planted now can be used as a source for composting once the cover crop is harvested. This provides us with a totally sustainable closed circle where we use compost to grow plants and use those plants to make compost. We want to show people that there are sustainable options for these lots. Everything is for a reason.”
Through his own company, Premium Services Inc, a sustainable landscape development organization that works with many large and small organizations in the Buffalo Area, Dave Majewski has also spearheaded a large composting initiative.
He started by turning many of the leftover limbs from the October storm cleanup into mulch and compost to be used by CUFF as well as other area organizations. In the last 18 months community gardens, as well as other non-profit organizations have accepted over 1,400 cubic yards of this compost for various uses.
“It is consummate sustainability. We’re taking something that was treated as waste and excess and treating it as a valuable commodity that can be a benefit to everyone. Our goal is to be regenerative,” says Majewski.
In addition to their own projects CUFF strives to have working relationships with other urban farms in the area by working alongside organizations such as the Wilson Street Farm (with whom they will often order supplies or share equipment), Grassroots Gardens and the CAO (Community Action Organization).
CUFF is always looking for volunteers are also excited about a new program that they hope to start this summer called LURE (Laboratories for Urban Revitalization and Education). LURE is in its’ beginning stages and is being started by CUFF member Pat Braun. Braun’s hope is to offer courses to area residents on farming, planting and soil maintenance.
At the end of the day CUFF’s members all agree on one thing– it’s not really about the plants, or the mulch or the farming, but about building community. “We’re really trying to develop neighborhoods, not farms,” says Rakoczy. “We want to bring some hope [to the residents].”
For more information on CUFF, or to offer volunteer time, contact Erwin Rakoczy at (716) 480-3920 or by email at rakoczy12@gmail.com.