We have been busy this week planning our Garden Celebration on August 21st. We have a new VISTA that will be coming in to work with the garden. The celebration will be a great way for him to meet everyone in the neighborhood and to end the summer on a great note! We have food, music, a salsa contest, a raffle, and kids crafts planned as well as representatives from the Health district, OBB, and police department. This is going to be a great party and thanks to the OSU extension office, we have plenty of prizes to raffle off and a great gift for the winner of the salsa contest!
Over our 8 weeks working at the garden we have accomplished much more than we imagined......
Over 100 pounds donated to the food bank and food pantry
Formed a Neighborhood Association
Formed a Neighborhood Watch
Formed a Garden Committee
Planned a Garden/Harvest Celebration
Additions to the garden: picnic table umbrella, 300 feet of hose, rain barrels, 4 beautiful flower beds, lavender flowers around the fence, and a compost pile (soon to be compost bin)
Feature on the Wittenberg University Website
Article in the Habitat for Humanity newsletter
Set up a garden website
Participated in the America in Bloom Contest
The biggest impact that the garden has had is bringing the community together. We had two neighbors that mentioned that they had never spoken to any of the other neighbors around besides each other. Now they have met many of their community members and are much more connected. One woman said that the garden was the best thing she seen happen to the neighbor and loves to enjoy the beautiful view now across the street. The Neighborhood Association is also an integral impact the project has had on the neighborhood. It can now reach out to the city in a positive light to get the assistance and support the neighborhood so desperately needs.
The garden project has changed the community out here in such a positive way. There is definitely more hope for the future and belief that change can actually happen. A true community has formed in a neighborhood were transitional families are the extreme majority. A new sense of security and safety has begun and the changes are just beginning. There is great hope for this community.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment