Well this is freaking awesome.
We are really excited to tell you about Wangari Gardens, a new garden park that is being established in Washington, DC, on a 2.7 acre space of land that is bursting with creative potential! With a mission inspired by the legacy that Professor Wangari Maathai left behind, we are in the brainstorming, planning, and outreach stages of things right now, trying to get as much input as possible from the community about how the space can best be used to benefit everyone. Some of the main ideas include a community garden, a playground, a fruit tree orchard, a butterfly/sensory garden, a walking/wheelchair trail, a rain garden, an outdoor classroom, and a dog park.
The most immediate plans are to begin constructing raised beds for the community garden on March 18th, with a park opening date set for April 1st. In order for this to happen, we need your help! There are endless opportunities for volunteering your time and skills, whether it be through fundraising, planning, building, planting, teaching, etc. Check out the attached flier for upcoming volunteer dates!
If you are interested in being a plot-holder in the community garden, please see the attached application.
If you would like to donate to the Wangari Gardens project, you can do so through a tax-deductible donation on Paypal, accessed through our website (this should be working in the next day or two). Your donation goes straight to the project through Groundwork Anacostia, an amazing environmental justice organization in DC who has agreed to be our fiscal agent.
We are so excited to get this project going, but understand and wish for it to be a fluid creative process, involving as many people and opinions as possible. All input is much appreciated. Feel free to use this flier to spread the word about Wangari Gardens, especially to those who live nearby the park site. We have some upcoming outreach days to make sure that all of the neighbors know what is going on, but the more people talking about it, the better.
Find out more information: www.facebook.com/wangarigardens
www.wangarigardens.wordpress.com (under construction)
Find the site!!
Wangari Gardens is located on a 2.7 acre space, bordered by Irving St. NW, Kenyon St. NW, and Park Pl. NW. It is north of Howard University, west of the Washington Hospital Center/Children’s Medical Center, south of the US Soldiers’ Home, and east of the Parkview and Pleasant Plains neighborhoods. The site is in Ward 5, but borders Ward 1.
