Some parts of Rockaway feel very urban, high-rise apartment buildings, trains shaking the tracks above you and car horns galore. In between busy city streets in the Edgemere neighborhood is a surprising and peaceful urban farm.

Every Thursday they have community dinners with fresh produce from the farm along with entrees from local restaurant groups. Picnic tables are setup in the center of the farm with rows of swiss chard to one side an apiary to the other. Dinner was a relaxed, multi-course affair with people walking, talking and playing lawn games between courses.

While this experience wasn’t directly an outdoor recreation adventure it was an adventure in the outdoors. Ultimately going to the farm for dinner was a great way to connect with the outdoors-minded community in the area and meet local people with shared values of community and nature.

By Sarah Knapp - part of a series called 30 Days in the Rockaways