EIGHT URBAN GARDENS NAMED NATIONAL "JOHN DEERE SEEDS OF HOPE” WINNERS - Manhattan's Fireman's Memorial Garden Leads List
(PRWEB) November 16, 2001
Spectacular gardens are thriving in the heart of inner city America -- and eight have been selected as winners of the 2001 John Deere Seeds of Hope Awards.
What used to be trash-filled vacant lots have been transformed into beautiful working gardens. Every day, volunteers carefully tend to plots of vegetables, flowers and herbs. Their work brings beauty to an urban landscape, hope to their communities, and, in one special case, a healing calm.
John Deere Seeds of Hope was created to honor those who bring natureÂ’s beauty to the inner city. This year, eight remarkable gardens have been selected for the honor, which is based on their transformation of a neglected area, community involvement, and the participation of area youth.
The 2001 Winners are:
·The Fireman's Memorial Garden, New York, NY
Amid cherry trees, lilacs and tulips, the people of New York pay their respects to fallen firefighters at this wonderful Lower East Side garden. Dedicated to the memory of firefighter Marty Celic, who lost his life fighting a blaze on the spot where the garden now thrives, The Fireman's Memorial Garden has taken on even more importance and meaning in recent weeks. In the aftermath of the events of September 11th, exhausted New York City police and firemen often visit the garden to reflect & gather their strength.
·Southfield Senior Citizen Community Gardens, Detroit, MI
Over 300 area senior citizens donate their time and labor to grow food for the hungry and teach youngsters about the joys of community involvement.
·Fulton Community Garden, Portland, OR
Low income kids from a local youth center come each week to learn about gardening and nature. The harvested vegetables are donated to "Produce for People" which provides fresh vegetables to needy neighbors, and a local domestic violence shelter.
. South Chicago's People's Park, Chicago, IL
Located in an economically and socially devastated area, the garden was once a haven for drug sales and gang activities. Today the South Chicago People's Park is a beautiful place for all ages to garden, play, relax and read. Preschool classes use the space; neighborhood kids gather to play and do homework in a safe environment. Crime is all but non-existent.
. 13th & W Streets Garden, Washington, D. C.
What was once a highly visible abandoned vacant lot in a challenged DC neighborhood, has been transformed into a garden of flowers and community involvement. Over the past three years, more than 75 area students have designed and tended the garden, mixing horticulture with education, hard work with neighborly pride.
·Alabama/SHAPE Garden, Houston, TX
Hundreds of racially mixed community volunteers joined together to transform a dangerous, vacant lot into an oasis of safety and a meeting ground for the community. Middle school "problem" kids use the garden to learn life skills such as responsibility, family planning and career counseling. Most of the vegetables raised in the garden are donated; gardeners deliver their harvest to elderly neighbors on fixed incomes.
·Parkway Partners' Kids Café Community Garden, New Orleans, LA
A once-blighted, vacant inner-city lot has been transformed into a safe haven for teaching area children life lessons and volunteerism. The young gardeners share fresh vegetables with area low-income seniors. Crime has been eliminated from the lot.
·5th Avenue Community Garden, Cedar Rapids, IA
Volunteer neighborhood residents including area children transformed the garden from a burned out, drug-riddled arson site. Many of the kids who work in the garden are political refugees from war-torn areas such as Somalia and Sierra Leone.
As John Deere Seeds of Hope winners, the volunteers who care for these gardens will receive a cash donation to purchase new equipment and seeds.
For more information about the John Deere Seeds of Hope program, please contact Bill Stoller at 201-224-3737, or by email: SeedsofHope2001@aol. com.
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