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

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/

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

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

exetergardens@gmail.com

www.exetergardens.net

facebook.com/exetergardens

http://exetergardens.net/2012/05/17/tub-jacked-the-epic-of-the-raptured-tub/

Exeter Gardens- soil samples

The soil samples where sent to the Soil and Plant Tissue Testing Laboratory  located on the campus of the University of Massachusetts.

http://www.umass.edu/soiltest/

From their website:

Soil Sampling Instructions 

"The most critical step in soil testing is collecting the sample. It is important that you take the 

necessary steps to obtain a representative sample; a poor sample could result in erroneous 

recommendations. 

The first step is to determine the area that will be represented by the sample. Soil physical 

appearance, texture, color, slope, drainage, and past management should be similar throughout 

the area. Avoid sampling very wet or recently fertilized soils. It may be helpful to draw a map 

of the property and identify areas where you will collect samples.  Using a clean bucket and a 

spade, auger, or sampling tube collect at least 10 to 15 subsamples to a depth of six to eight 

inches from random spots within the defined area. Avoid sampling field edges and other nonrepresentative areas.

Next, break up any lumps or clods of soil, remove stones and debris, and thoroughly mix

subsamples in the bucket. This step is very important, because only a few grams of your sample 

will be used for testing. Once the sample is thoroughly mixed, scoop out approximately one cup 

of soil and spread on a clean sheet of paper to air-dry. A fan set on low will help speed the 

drying; do not apply heat.

Place dry sample in a UMass Soil Testing Laboratory carton (obtained from the lab) or a plastic 

zip-lock bag. Do not submit wet soil samples to the lab. Label each box or zip-lock bag with 

your sample ID (you create this: limit of 5 characters). Send your sample(s), completed 

submission form and payment to the address listed on the front. Enclose check payable to UMass 

for $10 for each sample plus additional fees for optional tests requested."

Kickoff Of The Mayor's Spring Cleanup- Bethel St.

2012 Clean Community Competition also gets underway

WHO: Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will join Director Alfred H. Foxx at a Power In Dirt vacant lot being converted into a green space in the Oliver Community to officially kickoff the 2012 Mayor’s Spring Cleanup. Launched in August, 2011, Power in Dirt is the City’s first comprehensive plan to specifically address vacant lots by engaging residents and organizations in their sustainable revitalization.

Volunteers from the community and members of the 6th Branch, Come Home Baltimore and the Veteran Artist Program will also attend this launch. In addition, the Mayor will announce the start of the first-ever Clean Community Competition.

WHEN: Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 10 a.m.

WHERE: 1501 N. Bethel Street

WHAT: Over 200 community organizations and 5,830 volunteers have signed up to clean up on Saturday, come rain or shine! This is the 13th Mayor’s Spring Cleanup and the 25th overall citywide cleanup. The Mayor’s Cleanups started in March 2000 when over a two-day period, volunteers removed 2,500 tons of debris from the areas around their neighborhoods. Since then total tonnage removed in all cleanups has reached nearly 90,000 tons!

Following the kickoff, the Mayor will visit other Power In Dirt community cleanups:

10:45 a.m. 3800 Park Heights Avenue; 11:10 a.m. 4300 Park Heights Avenue for a ribbon cutting for a new playground at what was last year’s Spring cleanup kickoff site; and at 12 noon at 2300 Annapolis Road.