South Providence Community Gardener Oral History Project (Mss. Gr. 122)

Biographical or Historical Information

The South Providence Community Gardener Oral History Project was conceived and executed by Rebecca Sears, a junior at Brown University. She received a President's Community Service Fellowship from Brown University's Swearer Center for Public Policy to undertake the project in the summer of 1997. The purpose of Sears's project was to document the knowledge, activities, and heritage of individuals using the community gardens administered by the Southside Community Land Trust of South Providence. The tools she used to document these activities were oral history interviews and photography.

Sears recorded and transcribed interviews with seven community gardeners. Subjects discussed include childhood gardening/farming experiences, agricultural heritage, family folklore, migration to Providence, community gardens, individual gardening techniques, and reasons for gardening.