Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Open Walls Baltimore

Friday, May 25 2012 was the opening celebration for Open Walls Baltimore. Open Walls Baltimore is a street art project curated by local street artist Gaia and Station North Arts District. With the help of PNC bank Baltimore has seen street art murals go up in and around the Station North Arts District vicinity. Created by street artists from around the world, Open Walls Baltimore uses art as a neighborhood revitalization tool, stimulating dialogue about urban blight, abandoned buildings, and what makes community. 


The event on Friday evening was possible in part due to Power in Dirt's efforts! The event was held on an adopted vacant lot on the 1700 blk of Barclay. We were so excited to be at the event, and we had a lot of fun and met many wonderful people!


 Executive Director of Station North Arts District Ben Stone introduced the event and some of the artists present at the event. After, our own Power in Dirt VISTA Anna Evans-Goldstein got up on stage to explain how if we can re-imagine a vacant lot (or an empty wall?) as a positive space for creation instead of a negative eyesore in our community by adopting it and turning into a green space - well then Baltimore will be a beautiful city and a leader in neighborhood revitalization!


Please see some of the pictures from the event below and check us out at www.powerindirt.com


Check out our new banner!

The crowd is forming...

A wonderful community garden on the other side of some trees from the adopted lot that held the event

They even have a chicken coop! The City recently have written into the new zoning code regulations about owning chickens in the City - so cool!

Everyone excited for the music to start! Mark Brown, Scottie B, and Dan Deacon played!

Hanging out before the dancing begins!

Boy, what a crowd! 

Thanks a lot!


Written by Anna Evans-Goldstein of Power in Dirt

Thursday, May 24, 2012

CGRN Give-A-Way Day

Friday, May 18th, was a Community Greening Resource Network give-a-way day in the parking lot across from the Parks and People Foundation.
What a variety of treats for the lucky greener!

There was soil,


Fruit trees and ornamental shrubs,


Pansies,


and many, many, many vegetable plants!


WOW!
All for an annual membership fee of 20.00 and there will be more events just like this to follow. CGRN also offers various workshops and celebrations throughout the year. Through the organization, you can meet people who are as passionate about greening as you are~!

If you'd like more information about CGRN,
 please email the amazing Katie Dix or call Katie at (410) 448-5663, ext. 128.

http://www.parksandpeople.org/greening/resource-network/

Friday, May 11, 2012

Park-Reist Corridor Coalition Garden


April 21st, 2012: 
The Mayor’s Clean-Up was a success with her highlighting three Power in Dirt projects in east, northeast, and south Baltimore . As the Northwest Community Coordinator, the days leading up to that Saturday were much anticipated as well as nerve wrecking. The project coordinator at Park-Reist Corridor Coalition and I woke up around 6am to set up for that days events.
On the days preceding the clean-up we had been confident about having sufficient supplies, food, and materials. The one thing we had been most gravely worried about was having enough volunteers. Luckily, local drug recovery organization I Can’t, We Can was able to pitch in and provide around 15 volunteers for the project that day.
With all the good news it was to no one's surprise that there are was a few things that didn’t go exactly as planned. For one, we had expected to have the grass removed from the portion of the lot that would be a garden; unfortunately that was not the case. Instead we worked on through and attempted Plan B – suffocate the grass by laying down newspaper and layer wood chips on top. While at first we may have felt a little silly but the plan paid off and we were able to create our entire garden and walkway this way.
Just as our group started getting into the groove of things, news crew arrived around 11am to interview Park-Reist Garden Coordinator Akilah Rabb about her positive experience in transforming the vacant lot, really lifting the mood of all the volunteers present that day. And just as we thought things couldn’t look better the Mayor showed up to help with an apple tree planting. The presence of outsiders like the Mayor and the news station only reinforced the positive energy present that day and sent the message to the community around that you CAN in fact make a difference in Park Heights . The event brought everyone in the neighborhood together, sharing hot dogs and drinks while planting seedlings in new raised topsoil - an overall success!

Thanks,
Maria

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Barclay Youth Safe Haven

has been hard at work establishing an outdoor classroom and gathering space with their Parks and People Greening Grant!
http://www.greaterhomewood.org/2011/02/celebrating-a-successful-barclay-youth-safe-haven-launch/
 The hardest workers~!

Mr. Ferdinand

Mrs. Grace

Shekita Wilkins and Mr. Ferdinand

 Diggin' in!

 Laying out weed barrier cloth

 The garden bed's first layer!

Not cold any more!

Missing- Exeter Garden!



Our beautiful, fun-loving, pure-bred bathtub went missing on April 24th, 2012 from the lot on Exeter Street and Lombard. We only left it on its own for a moment! 

The lot is the future site of Exeter Gardens - a new urban food farm for the Jonestown community - and we pushed and pulled our tub there so we could start growing fruits and vegetables in it. But after all that trouble and effort, our tub has disappeared. 

Though the loss makes us sad, we are looking forward to the fall when Exeter Gardens will be built in full - see the reverse side of this poster for an awesome site plan! Until then, and all through the summer, we'll be growing fruits and vegetables, sprouts and spices, leafy greens and tasty tubers, using anything that takes our fancy to grow them in. If you have something you think would make a good planter for the garden, let us know - filing cabinets, tin-cans, teapots, wooden crates, lunch pails. We'll even take another bathtub, though we'll never forget our own. 

Be a part of making Exeter Gardens a reality! Let your imagination run wild!

And if you do see our tub, let us know and treat it kindly - it likes warm baths and an occasional scratch behind the taps with a nice, soft loofah.

Get in touch:

Lindsay Thompson, 410-935-3709
Hasdai Westbrook, 443-801-7477