On the QT | The Official Newsletter of GWA August-September 2016 | Page 27
GWA FOUNDATION TRAVELS TO NEW YORK,
ATLANTA FOR GRO1000 DEDICATIONS
BY A S H L E Y H O D A K S U L L I VA N
The GWA Foundation
team wrapped up 2016
Miracle-Gro Gro1000
activities with garden
dedications in New York
and Atlanta.
On June 2, the Foundation team headed
to the Pleasant Village
Community Garden in East Harlem, New York
for its Gro1000 garden dedication. The community garden effectively functions as a non-profit
co-operative, providing food for more than 200
community residents. In addition to the edible
garden, the property has a chicken coop that
provides eggs to the community. Surplus eggs
are sold and the revenue is poured back into
maintaining the garden.
The day featured educational activities for
more than 100 elementary school kids, including making wildflower-seed mud bombs and
pollinator feeders.
ATLANTA ACTIVITIES
On June 17, the team was in Atlanta for
community activities at Atlanta Fire Station 28
and Covenant House of Georgia, a residence
that supports homeless teens. As part of several projects funds by the grants, edible gardens
were established at local firehouses. The
gardens provide an excellent source of fresh
edibles for firefighters and their communities,
emphasizing the importance of healthy eating.
On the day of the garden dedications,
volunteers built a raised garden bed in the
shape of 28 to honor the firehouse. The team
then visited Covenant House for a special
presentation to mark the dedication of its
Gro1000 garden. Residents grow their own
edible plants, which they sell at local farmers
markets. As part of the presentation, residents
were recognized for their accomplishments in
the Covenant House program.
With 2016 activities concluded, the Gro1000
program will begin planning for 2017; applications for grants will open in the coming
months. To learn more about the program,
Above: Covenant House residents, partners and
Atlanta’s first lady Sarah Elizabeth Kristan Reed
participated in the dedication of its Gro1000
garden. Below right: At Pleasant Village Community
Garden in East Harlem, New York’s Gro1000 garden
dedication, school children made their own pollinator costumes and learned about bringing pollen
back to the hive.
please visit www.gro1000.com.
For questions about the GWA Foundation’s
partnership with Gro1000, please contact
Ashley Hodak Sullivan at 212-297-2198 or
[email protected].
Ashley Hodak Sullivan is deputy executive director for
GWA.
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