Today I went for my first 6am run of the spring/summer season. The birds were singing in full force as I took a deep breath of fresh morning air. There is something about running in the morning, the air is better, creatures are just waking up and your head is clear. It is highly addictive. This morning as I trotted up towards the Eric Waller Community Garden I started to daydream about turning more vacant city lots into spaces for growing food. Baltimore is like the wild west; there are a lot of resources here if you are willing and brave enough to seek out and act upon. During our UME Master Gardener course we had a community garden workshop where we learned that there is a program through Baltimore City called Adopt-A-Lot. There are an incredible number of vacant lots available for adoption in this city (5,000+!) to use for vegetable gardening, green spaces, community gathering spaces and revitalization projects. The application process is simple and if your lot does not have access to water you can pay $120 and the city will install it for you for the 9 month growing season. The hard part is seeing your vision for the lot through, patience and lots of muscle.
Some of the lots look like this...
One of the community gardens that has benefited from the Adopt-A-Lot program is the Park Heights Renaissance Community Garden. They received a grant from the Parks and People foundation for purchasing and installing hoop houses. The Park Heights Renaissance garden is HUGE and they have done a ton of work making it the space it is today. So get on it Hon!
Images from the Park Heights Renaissance Community Garden:
Park Heights Renaissance
Dreamy Hoop House
Hoop Vent
Nihima-Garden Organizer
