The GWA Foundation, in partnership with ScottsMiracle-Gro Foundation’ s GRO1000 Program, the U. S. Conference of Mayors, Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanic Gardens and KidsGardening. org, will be traveling to four cities in support of the 2017 Gro1000 Showcase Grant Winners.

A panel of former mayors and national garden experts chose the cities. The winners were announced at the Mayors’ 85th Winter Meeting in Washington, D. C. Each GRO1000 grant awardee receives $ 40,000 in monetary support and in-kind donations to develop gardens and greenspaces that will help improve their communities. This year’ s showcase grant winners are:

• New Bedford, Massachusetts: Abolition Row Park will be a transformational public greenspace at the edge of New Bedford’ s downtown core, replacing blighted property adjacent to three buildings on the National Register of Historic Places— documented Underground Railroad sites and the first home in freedom of Frederick Douglass. The park will be a teaching and storytelling garden that will focus on the city’ s history in the 19th century as a community of tolerance and a haven for those seeking escape from the institution of slavery. The park will also feature monarch gardens to engage local schoolchildren and college students.

• New Haven, Connecticut: A former dumping site, Cherry Ann Park is now a 5-acre greenspace in New Haven that serves to connect a predominantly low income, African-American residential community, city park, neighborhood kindergarten to 8th grade school and state university. The park’ s

GWA Membership Coordinator, Alexa Haller, works with children at Pleasant Village Community Garden in New York City to make mud bombs with seeds of wildflowers during a 2016 GRO1000 celebration.

transformation, which began in 2014, will continue with environmental and health educational opportunities for students at the King Robinson Magnet School, job creation for local youth and a series of raised edible garden beds to feed community members in need.

• Rochester Hills, Michigan: The Hills Sensory Garden will be a 5,000- square-foot garden located in Rochester Hill’ s Riverbend Park. The garden will have two different areas— a student-designed and maintained space and a professionally designed sensory garden. The garden will include areas specifically devoted to schools from Rochester Hills to teach students the elements of ecology, such as native plants, soil erosion and pollination. The garden also will encourage children to interact with nature through guided walks and a natural-elements playground. The garden will also serve the public as a recreational sensory garden. The naturalelements playground, immediately adjacent to the garden, will be designed with sensitivity towards those with autism.

• Santa Monica, California: The result of community outreach to design a buffer area adjacent to a new Metro Rail, Ishihara Park is a public greenspace where the community can connect with nature while being screened from a nearby maintenance facility and its 24 / 7 operations. Ishihara Park will cover 2.35 acres and serve as an urban revitalization effort to replace land formerly used as a parking lot. It will be planted with native trees and shrubs to create open greenspace for the community. A nature garden will include flowering trees and plants to entice natural pollinators, and will give residents access to natural beauty and tranquility. The open greenspace will allow residents to use the park as they desire— for meditation, celebrations, bird watching or just simply walking and talking. A learning garden and an urban orchard of citrus trees will provide the community with space to grow fresh produce and gain horticulture knowledge.

The GWA Foundation has been a partner of the GRO 1000 program since its inception in 2011. The program is part of Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation’ s commitment to bring the life-enhancing benefits of gardens and greenspaces to more people and communities. The initiative will support the creation of more than 1,000 community gardens and greenspaces in the U. S. by 2018 in conjunction with ScottsMiracle- Gro’ s 150th anniversary. To that end, more than 830 community projects have received GRO1000 funding to date. For more information, visit www. GRO1000. com.

ARE WE COMING TO A CITY NEAR YOU?

We are looking for member volunteers to join us in support of these wonderful projects. The press also is invited. Please contact Alexa Haller( ahaller @ kellencompany. com) for more information.

PHOTO COURTESY GWA / GARDENWRITERS. ORG

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