Bronx High School Students Restore Enchanted Garden, Cultivating Community and Food Sovereignty

Tucked away behind the parking lot of Marble Hill’s John F. Kennedy Campus lies a three-quarter-acre space full of foliage and budding plants.

Forty teens are now working to restore what is known as the Enchanted Garden. 

In the past month, students from Bronx Theatre High School and Marble Hill High School for International Studies — both part of the Kennedy campus — removed weeds, cleared pathways and planted vegetables. By the end of the summer, they plan to sell the harvest at a farmers market. 

“I like how much of a community we all are,” Saaphire Wright, a junior, said. “We all manage to put our differences aside and focus on nature.” 

The project marks a turning point for the garden after several years of obstacles to maintaining it.

In the mid-1990s, the lot was littered with dirt, auto parts and other garbage. Kennedy students, at the time, wanted to reinvent the space and tested the grounds for contaminants. They began planting shortly thereafter. 

But, once Kennedy was divided into smaller schools in 2014, the garden deteriorated due to environmental factors and a lack of upkeep.

Ivy, an invasive species, started climbing trees and weighing down branches. Paths throughout the garden were overgrown with weeds. Soil erosion made it difficult to keep plants healthy. 

Off one of the pathways, there used to be a pond and a flowing creek. Water was sourced by rain: a nearby valley would flood during storms, pass through surrounding wetlands as a natural filter, and fill the space with freshwater. What was once a home to native Bronx fish, such as minnows, is now blocked off with bricks. 

But, not all of the garden’s setbacks were due to neglect. 

In 2021, someone broke into the garden and stole thousands of dollars’ worth of maintenance equipment. Danny Steiner, a now-retired teacher who ran the garden at the time, called on the community for help. Despite raising almost $3,000, the space remained difficult to care for. 

Osvaldo Montas, the current science teacher at Bronx Theatre High School, has been involved with the garden since he became a Kennedy student in 1997. Last year, he secured a grant from the Food Education Fund, and started planning the garden’s revamp. 

Now, he leads the kids in the program and coordinates the resources necessary to improve the space, including funding and community partners.

“I’ve been here since I was 14, all my formative years in high school were in this garden,” Montas said. “For me, it’s all those little memories. The fact that they don’t have that kind of hurts … It’s here — why not use it?” 

The kids built six new planting beds in the first week. Since then, they have been growing carrots, beans, chard, basil and other herbs. 

Students learned technical skills such as how to compost, tend to greenery and care for the garden’s four chickens. 

The chickens diversify the garden, said sophomore Franklin Fontanaillas. Instead of just plants, there’s also a species of animals living there. 

Kendra Heredia, a junior, said she knew the garden was on campus, but never visited. 

“[I know now] to not just throw water on the plants, and focus on the soil,” Heredia said. “I also learned to put my differences aside with people and to actually do my job.” 

The project is funded by the city’s Summer Youth Employment Program, which provides students with a stipend for the work they do over the summer. 

The Enchanted Garden also partners with nonprofits Harlem Grown and Children’s Arts and Science Workshop (CASW), as well as the New York Botanical Garden’s Bronx Green-Up program. 

Shalem Borja, a program coordinator at CASW, works year-round with Kennedy students. Montas approached her earlier this year and said he wanted to make the space a work site for the kids. 

“Our hope is just that they get familiar [with the garden], and it gets them wanting to work with the community,” Borja said. 

Senior Asher Ramirez said the best part was forming relationships and meeting new people. Since the schools are separated, Bronx Theatre and Marble Hill kids rarely cross paths. 

“Thirty years ago, there were multiple people working in this space in unison,” Ramirez said. “It would be so cool, not just for us students on campus  to work here, but volunteers in general, so you could build that connection with other people.” 

The Enchanted Garden has helped some students’ personal growth. Those not interested in gardening long-term believe it could lead them to other career paths. 

Anuoluwapo Olusoji, a junior, said the group visited a farmers market to learn how it operated. 

“It’s going to be useful when we’re trying to learn how to run a business,” Olusoji said. 

The experience also helped him improve his people-skills. For older students, it’s an opportunity to develop themselves as leaders. 

Seniors and recent graduates are provided the code to the Enchanted Garden and mentor roles, supervising the younger kids. Montas said the added responsibility strengthens trust. 

“Morale is higher now,” Devon Hayward, a senior at Bronx Theatre, said. “Back in the day, the garden used to be more of an occasional class visit. Now it’s more hands-on, and people can actually feel like they’re a part of something.” 

Hayward said the Enchanted Garden is a safe haven for kids, and a place to socialize or sit and think outside of just being a place to work. 

In the coming months, Montas hopes the garden becomes a collaborative space on campus, where teachers can bring their students regularly. He is also working towards a farmers market on campus, led by other community organizations, to give students access to fresher food. 

But, for now, focus remains on the Kennedy students’ market in August, where they will share what they’ve grown with the community. 

“Their goal is … to introduce what sovereignty means food-wise,” Montas said. “What it means to be food conscious and have the agency to not go hungry. Thirty percent of Bronx kids go hungry. Having them build [a garden] — either in a windowsill or in their backyards if they have one — it does fill in that gap.”