Michael Trigiano is helping clean weeds at the Holden Community Garden for Earth Day. 

“I love cleaning up,” Trigiano said. “To me every day is Earth Day. It’s all good for the environment, cleaning up every day is good. I find stuff on the side of the road, I pick it up. It’s what I am.”

The land Michael is helping clean up was donated to the town. Since 2015, Holden residents have been renting space to grow food and flowers in the spring. 

“I grow everything you can think of, beans and greens," Trigiano said. 

For Michael, gardening is part of being healthy. 

“It’s good for your heart health, the physical exercise and then what you wind up with on your plate," Trigiano said. 

But for the community garden members, it’s about more than food and exercise. 

“It’s a community thing,” Trigiano said. “I used to play basketball and every sport you can think of. Well, at 65 it’s kinda hard to play those sports. Well I could play some, but I like this kinda thing.”

Jessica Cosenza said some of the food grown at the Community Garden goes to the Wachusett Food Pantry and the Holden Senior Center. 

“It really is an important space for people to be able to come together, especially after COVID, where there is plenty of open space,” Cosenza said. “And we can just get back together again, work together, and try to take care of our community.”

The gardeners collect rain to water their crops and have a compost, too. 

“We just try to demonstrate environmental stewardship and responsibility though our own examples," Cosenza said. 

Examples Community Garden members are hoping to pass on to the next generation of gardeners.