Wylde Center's Edgewood Garden connects urban community with nature — and chickens

Edgewood Garden is a place for community. It’s nestled in the Edgewood neighborhood — surrounded by homes, apartments and a school.

The urban greenspace, operated by the Wylde Center, was once the site of an apartment building. It was transformed into a community garden back in 2012, part of a revitalization effort to serve residents of the area. It now has a nature center, a playground, picnic benches, honeybees, butterflies, fruit trees, vegetable beds, compost bins, pollinator plants and more. But one of the garden’s most popular attributes is its chickens.

“Chickens! It’s the number one draw here at Edgewood Garden,” said Gordon Dyker, a Wylde Center site coordinator. “Everybody makes a beeline to see our five Rhode Island Reds and they usually put on a performance for the visitors and everyone usually has a good time.”