Friday, July 27, 2012

Meet the Power in Dirt Team -- Ellen!

Ellen Meyer hails from the rough and tumble land of Central NY. She recently graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Environmental Economics. She is enjoying living in Baltimore and can't wait to help turn vacant lots into green spaces!


Ellen represents West/Northwest Baltimore. She works out of Parks and People Foundation at
800 Wyman Park Dr., Suite 010. She can be reached at (410) 929-5605 or ellen@powerindirt.com.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Outdoor Films and Vegetables- Oh my!

Estelle and Tony Goff have recently brought their creativity to Baltimore from Washington DC! Already having landscaping backgrounds, they adopted two city owned vacant lots on Monroe in West Baltimore. The plan is to create a beautiful vegetable garden and to sell some of the produce at The New Fayette Street Deli and Market through the owner, David Brown, giving back to the West Baltimore community.

Great progress has been made so far! A raised bed has been installed and many flowers have been planted at the entrance of the garden. The Goffs are also getting creative and using recycled bricks to create columns at the entrance.

In addition to the garden, the Goffs have partnered with Fayette Street Outreach Organization in order to create an outdoor movie theatre on the lot behind theirs on Vine Street. A large white wall is available that can be used to project films and bring the community together, much like in Little Italy! Their first showing will be on August 7th, National Night Out, from 5:00pm-midnight.

Meet the Power in Dirt Team -- Joe!


Joe is joining Power in Dirt from Virginia where he grew up and went to school. Joe graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in architecture and is excited to branch out and explore community greening. Joe is interested in the idea of public space and the ways that gathering places, parks, and gardens can help to build community and bring neighborhoods together.

Joe represents North Baltimore from the Alameda to Pimlico Road. He works out of the Greater Homewood Community Corporation at 3503 N. Charles St. He can be reached at (443)826-9170 or joe@powerindirt.com

Monday, July 9, 2012

Sol Food at Exeter Gardens

A roving band of vagabonds arrived at Exeter Gardens (see previous post) this past friday! Sol Food is a skilled team four friends on a greening tour across the country. 

Their mission statement-

"Sol Food advocates for locally grown food and alternative energy sources. Through a series of educational workshops and exhibitions our goal is to empower under-represented communities, from kindergarten to young adults, with hands-on practice in square foot gardening, creative reuse, and non-traditional energy sources. Sol Food’s national tour is focused on promoting individual education hoping to encourage a broader range of healthy and responsible ecological choices that lead to more sustainable lifestyles. "

On the work day,  Sol Food  set about installing plants grown in the back of their own veggie oil powered tour bus (with a green roof, of course!) The plants were put in raised beds that were built on site. They also created a street mural with kids from the neighborhood. 
Lucky Jonestown!


A peek inside the bus......


Cucumbers growing inside!


PID Coordinator Gigi Rosen with Sol Food's Dylan Hammond.


PID Coordinator Joe Huennekens inspects the bus greenhouse.


Raised beds boarder Exeter Gardens.


Street mural done by neighborhood kids.


Follow Sol Food' journey:

Exeter Gardens:

Monday, July 2, 2012

Meet the Power in Dirt Team - Jeff!


Jeff is excited to be joining the Power in Dirt team from Burlington, Vermont. He graduated from the University of Vermont with a major in geography and minors in geology and music. His interest in the greening movement of Baltimore began as he spent his last semester (remotely) analyzing and mapping Baltimore green spaces. After studying Baltimore from afar, it is exciting to be a part of the city. Jeff is interested in working with members of the community to make their vacant lot dreams come true.

Jeff Botula coordinates the Northeastern, Southeastern, and Central areas of Baltimore. He works out of the Parks and People offices near Druid Hill Park. You can reach him at jeff@powerindirt.com or (410) 448-5663 ext. 122.