Kristen represents South/SouthWest Baltimore. She works out of Bon Secours at 26 N Fulton Ave and can be reached at kristen@powerindirt.com or 410-362-3185.
Empowering Baltimore City Communities to Adopt City-owned Vacant Lots and Turn Them Into Community Managed Green and Open Spaces!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Meet the Power in Dirt Team- Kristen!
Kristen is a recent graduate of Hood College with degrees in Law & Society and Studio Art. She is excited to get other programs involved with Power in Dirt and hopes to do some work on murals while helping communities turn their neighborhoods into beautiful and safe places to be!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Pen Lucy Gets a New Pocket Park!
On Saturday July 28th, residents of the North Baltimore neighborhood of Pen-Lucy came together with volunteers from across Maryland to help transform a vacant lot in their neighborhood. The lot, located at the intersection of Frisby St. and Argonne Drive just east of Greenmount Ave., has been vacant and weed-filled for decades. However, the lot is large, flat, and located on a prominent location right at the entrance to the community. Recognizing this potential, members of the Pen-Lucy Action Network, a neighborhood improvement organization affiliated with the Faith Christian Fellowship, got together to transform the lot into a green space that the entire community could enjoy. Spearheaded by Tim Cannon, PLAN created a proposal to turn the lot into a small neighborhood "pocket park" that would both beautify the neighborhood and create a community space for everyone to enjoy. On Saturday the first step was taken towards this goal, as volunteers cleaned trash and brush from the lot, cut the grass, and started to install a split-rail fence around the property. Another work day is planned for September to continue on the progress that was made in July. While plenty of work remains to be done, the Frisby St. lot already exemplifies the way that hardworking, committed neighbors can help to transform their community.
the lot
volunteers start to clean brush and debris from the back of the lot
starting to build the fence
a neighbor and his dog already enjoying the lot
The finished product! Next step, plants, benches, and a walkway!
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.
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