Approximately 175 volunteers from the Jordan neighborhood, the Pohlad Foundation, Catalyst, and many other partners are converging on the Glengale Park for a community beautification project today. Volunteers will be landscaping, building retaining walls, and doing some painting at people's homes.
All of this started at the break of dawn, and dedicated residents and volunteers will be working in Jordan all day. Other partners to be thanked include The Ackerberg Group, the city of Minneapolis, Glengale Park residents, Neighborhood Housing Services, the Northside Home Fund, RJM Construction (these are the experts who are directing the volunteers), Urban Homeworks, Minnesota Internship Center at Unity House, and NAIOP (Commercial Real Estate Development Association).
If you make it over there to do some work yourself, you just might get one of those snazzy yellow t-shirts too.
I've seen numerous examples of over the years where landscaping without a maintenance plan or dedicated person responsible for it ends up looking worse than just simple mowed turf. Good intentions, but little follow up. Even the "demonstration" gardens at the Eco Village look like crap. Again, great idea in theory, but due to lack of maintenance, the reality is an eyesore. Any landscaping or garden must have an extremely dedicated person behind it that is willing to take on a long term commitment. To create a garden without a gardener is like giving a pet to someone who isn't ready to be a pet owner. It is a commitment. It's easy to run a lawn mower over a large area. It is not easy to weed, refresh mulch, trim shrubbery, etc.
ReplyDeleteIronically, I am all about landscaping and gardening. However, it MUST be initiated by the person who is going to be maintaining it over time. It is not something that is simply "installed" like public art. I guess I can't say for sure that is what will happen in this circumstance, but I have to say that I am skeptical. This just happens to be one of my personal pet peeves.
September 30, 2010 10:40 PM
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