Marquette Mardi Gras Volunteers Return to New Orleans

New and returning volunteers from Marquette University http://www.marquettemardigras.com/  in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, gave new life to the CSED Dauphine Street Community Garden.  They totally reworked the streetside planting bed!  These energetic students weeded, and weeded, and weeded some more, put down landscape fabric under the streetside border, mixed in compost with the existing soil, planted liriope and loropetalum, and mulched with pine straw while they gladly soaked up some glorious, New Orleans sunshine.

They tirelessly continued to work all day.  Thanks to them the rest of the garden beds were also weeded and mulched, the brick entrance walkway was raised with another layer of bricks, and recycled, concrete pavers were added at the end of the streetside bed for further protection from vehicles.

Thank YOU Marquette Mardi Gras!!!

"Heads Up" - Dauphine Daffodils

"Heads Up" Princeton New Jersey Jewish Center Volunteers, the daffodils y'all planted in our Dauphine Street Community Garden are blooming beautifully!  Your gift keeps on giving.  Thanks again!

New & Returning Volunteers from Webster, Ogden, & Greece Baptist Churches

Hailing from the great state of New York, new & returning volunteers from Webster, Ogden & Greece Baptist Churches worked tirelessly in our neighborhood this week.  I was fortunate to have the assistance and youthful energy of Brett Forstbauer, Taylor Riggins, & Michael Soluri.  They worked with our constant, quinntessential volunteer Steve Gonzales to continue our effort to clear & level the blighted backyard of the property next to our Dauphine Street community orchard.  These guys dug deep to eliminate roots, remove debris, & rake & level the ground to help us achieve easy maintenance.

Thanks to these young men, we also now have another community orchard planted on our Florida Avenue properties. They diligently dug holes, mixed soil, planted, watered, & mulched nine fruit trees...2 ruby red grapefruit, 1 sweet kumquat, 2 sweet orange, 1 Satsuma, 2 figs, & 1 apple.

Many thanks to Michael, Brett, & Taylor for helping us to Sustain the Nine!

 

University of Sioux Falls Blight Busters

University of Sioux Falls student musicians, led by Dr. Jonathan Neiderhiser, Director of Instrumental Music, came to serve and blessed us with their hard work AND their musical talents.  They joined us in our never-ending battle against blight and tackled the backyard of the blighted house next to our Dauphine Street orchard.  Our ongoing goal is to avoid the jungle of overgrowth that happens here every summer.  Following up on another volunteer groups' efforts to clear the lot, these diligent folks from South Dakota cleaned up, dispersed the piles of debris, cut down tree stumps, created a compost "bin," leveled the lot, and thoroughly enjoyed our sunshine. 

But these student musicians had much more to share with our community.  Their chamber wind ensemble regaled us with a half hour of glorious music! 

Inspired, delighted, but still wanting to serve, they "returned to their roots" and dug them up!  They also unearthed at least 100 bricks!  This lot will now be easily maintained by regular mowing and another area of blight has been obliterated. 

Thank YOU for lifting us up with your service and your music.

 

Common Ground Volunteers Plant Trees on CSED Florida Avenue Lot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many thanks to James of Common Ground Reflief and to their volunteers who planted and mulched 1 pecan, 4 cypress, and 5 red maple trees on the CSED vacant lot at 5620 Florida Avenue.  These volunteers came from near and far: New York, the College of New Jersey Alternative Break Club, the Share Institute from American River College in California, and the University of Mississippi.  These hardworking young people continued their good works that day by planting trees in the Bayou Bienvenue Triangle.  We are so very grateful that volunteers keep coming to offer their many hands in service to our community. 

Colleen Butler Computerized Our Design Plan for CSED Lots at Florida & Caffin Avenues

 

We would like to give a shout out to Ecologist Colleen Butler who generously offered to volunteer her services to computerize our landscape design plan for the CSED lots at Florida and Caffin Avenues.   The Florida Avenue lot will be planted with red maple, pecan, and cypress trees. The naturalized "island" blooming with goldenrod that currently exists in the rear of this lot will be enhanced with additional plants to further attract butterflies.  A community fruit orchard will be planted on the Lamanche Street properties.  A perimeter fence of recycled 4x4 posts strung with rope has already been installed.  

As per our request, Colleen designed a temporary seating structure for the Caffin Avenue lot to stage groups of visitors who often come to learn more about the Bayou Bienvenue Triangle. She included an attached rain catchment system to provide a water source for the site. 

 

Colleen, we so appreciate your time and effort!

Tireless Jewish Center Volunteers Go Above & Beyond

Boundless energy and amazing initiative would begin to describe the students of the Jewish Center in Princeton, New Jersey, who volunteered with us in our community garden and orchard at 4817-19 Dauphine Steet. We constantly battle the overgrowth from the adjacent blighted property but these folks made short order of removing at least a foot of weeds, sand and debris from the alleyway. They cleared the fence line as requested and then took the initiative to go above and beyond and chopped down the entire "jungle" that overshadowed the orchard! But they didn't stop there...100 daffodil bulbs were planted in hopes of a magnificent Spring bloom.

Thanks so much for your heartfelt service to our community, for your great attitude, and your sunny smiles :)

 

 

Second Light Wired @ Delery St. Playground

Justin lifts 75lb battery box with motor lift to its home high above the playground.  We cleaned the box and charged and wired the battery.  Second light will be opperational when we install the bulb.  Thank you Justin for all of your help!

USGBC Green Apple Day of Service

Green Apple Day of Service was a success!  Over the weekend volunteers helped CSED with light carpentry work at The Center on Chartres (5227 Chartres Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development Energy Efficiency Educational Center).

NOLA’s First Solar-Powered “Living Shade” Structure

Wonderful piece from the BCBSLA Foundation on the latest development at the Guerilla Garden! Congrats to Jenga Mwenda for her tireless efforts to help bring food security back to the Lower Ninth Ward.

By Tina Dirmann

This is a story of rebirth, renewal, regrowth. Just a snapshot of what a few determined individuals can do when they are committed to making a difference.

How fitting, as we note the 8^th anniversary of Katrina, that we can tell such a tale today. For it was eight years ago when waters ravaged New Orleans. And, in particular, devastated the tight-knit community that made up the Lower Ninth Ward.

In the days before Katrina hit, there stood an empty lot – that kind that proliferates the still devastated community today. But before the storm, this lot in particular meant something to people. You see, one resident used to take the time to toss seeds into this lot. At times, tomato seeds. Sometimes okra. A little of this and some of that. Nothing formal. No one tended to the yard in any particular way.  And yet, produce often grew large and proud. And what cropped-up was there for the taking. Anyone in the community was welcome to it.

That tradition was almost lost in the storm’s wake, just another casualty amid so much other loss. We know some residents never returned. Weeds still stand overgrown on vacant lots. Community stores and bars and gathering spots simply fell away.

But in 2009, one woman in this shaken community remembered that garden, and she wanted it back. Because in her neighborhood, fresh produce can be hard to come by. There aren’t thriving farmers markets. No Whole Foods and Rouses offering fresh fare – let alone anything affordable.

And so, 9^th Ward resident Jenga Mwendo founded the Backyard Gardener’s Network, a non-profit dedicated to reviving and sustaining the lot they’ve now dubbed “The Guerrilla Garden.” Her group gathered enough funds to buy the lot at 601 Charbonnet Street and not just return it to what it once was – but to take it a step beyond. READ MORE >>

via ourhomelouisiana.org