More than a decade after saving scores of community gardens from the auction block, The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has signed over the deeds to 32 gardens to the Brooklyn-Queens Land Trust. "This is truly a great day for the Brooklyn-Queens Land Trust," said Demetrice Mills, BQLT board president. BQLT gardeners will never forget that The Trust for Public Land stepped up to the plate and saved community gardens from being auctioned off."

On a recent visit to Hawaii, First Lady Michelle Obama took a tour of the 25-acre MA'O Organic Farms in the Waianae area of Oahu. This was the latest of Mrs. Obama's field trips for her Let's Move! program, developed to address the childhood obesity epidemic. As with The BQLT, The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has been instrumental in MA'O's growth and development, helping it to grow in size and to increase output and expand its educational programs.

The Brooklyn-Queens Land Trust, a seven-year-old non-profit organization formed by The Trust for Public Land and headquartered in Bedford-Stuyvesant, currently managing community garden comprising 3.4 acres of conserved land, will take over full ownership of the 32 gardens by the end of the year, BQLT President Demetrice Mills recently announced.

This year’s State Budget (2011/2012) left the EPF untouched. That is not to say that we should be satisfied. In past years, anytime the State was short of funds, hundreds of millions of dollars were taken from the EPF to plug holes elsewhere, while other state agencies’ budgets were left mostly in tact.

The yearly business meeting reported to the representatives of all its gardens the overall status of the not for profit organization’s program and financials. The membership voted to add 3 additional gardens to the BQLT stewardship raising its total number of gardens from 34 to 37 gardens.