KMC Community Garden Wins City of Norfolk's "COOL" Award
Knitting Mill Creek Community Garden was voted one of the top five citizen-directed neighborhood improvement projects in Norfolk, Virginia, earning the city's COOL Award.
COOL, which stands for Civic Opportunity and Outstanding Leadership, is a recognition program established by Norfolk's Bureau of Community Outreach that honors grassroots projects started by residents to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods.
Selected with input from community and agency stakeholders, the Knitting Mill Creek Community Garden won the award because of its conversion and ongoing maintenance of a once-vacant, trash-filled lot in Norfolk's historic Colonial Place neighborhood into public green space and communal and personal garden plots. The KMC Community Garden celebrates its tenth anniversary this year with new leadership, an influx of enthusiastic new membership, and an exciting rainwater abatement project being installed in conjunction with the Norfolk Master Gardeners.
“Sharing grassroots efforts with other neighbors as a way to ignite a spark for projects in other neighborhoods is the basis for the COOL award,” said Marty Raiss, program administrator with Community Outreach for the City of Norfolk.
The COOL award is presented based on the following criteria: residents working together as volunteers to improve the community; encouraging individual and community responsibility for the neighborhood; an increased awareness of the importance of enhancing the quality of life in Norfolk through neighborhood programs, events or projects; and the promotion of neighborhood unity and significant impact on neighborhood communication, interaction and cooperation.
Other citizen-led projects to receive COOL honors include Fairmount Park Civic League's beautification committee and neighborhood watch program; the Ballentine Bark Park, a dog park initiated by residents of the Ballentine Park neighborhood; the Lafayette Wetlands Partnership, a citizen-based group with the mission of preserving an urban wetland along the Lafayette River; and Art/Everywhere, in which empty storefront windows along Granby Street were filled with various art media including sculpture, paintings and photography.
Congratulations, KMC gardeners and supporters, on the well-deserved recognition of all of your hard work!!
Garden Membership Reopens March 1, 2010
It's not too early to start thinking tomatoes!
Garden membership will reopen to new gardeners on March 1st for the 2010 growing season. Plans are underway for upgrading the compost area, and the City of Norfolk will be trimming the trees in and around the garden by the end of March, which means more sunny growing space.
Plot selection is first come, first served, so download your garden agreement/application and mail soon!
KMC Garden On TV
The garden got a brief shout-out with accompanying pix on Fox 43's Hampton Roads Show the morning of 2/15 during a story on community gardening. You can check it out here!
First Annual Community Garden Leaf Drive,
November 28 and 29
Got leaves? We'll take 'em!
On November 28 and 29, drop off your bagged leaves anytime at the Knitting Mill Creek Community Garden's Georgia Avenue entrance. They'll go to good use as we put the garden to bed for the winter with a thick layer of leaves over all the plots. It's a natural, organic way to keep weeds away, plus nourish the soil when the leaves are dug under in the spring.
With hundreds of square feet of growing space to blanket, the Community Garden needs a lot of leaves. We'll be grateful for yours!
Exciting Rain Garden Project Launches 10/24!
Join Us!
The Norfolk Master Gardeners Volunteers have devised an ambitious new rain garden project at the Knitting Mill Creek Community Garden, located in Colonial Place behind Fellini's restaurant.
In conjunction with the city, the KMC gardeners, and Fellini's, the group will restructure the current storm drain and landscape surrounding it to better accept rainwater runoff from the Fellini's parking lot. The rain garden, similar to those installed at the Virginia Zoo, will use soil percolation to keep toxins out of the storm drain – and our rivers – and will be planted with water-loving ornamentals to provide beauty to the Community Garden.
Work will commence on this exciting new project on Saturday, October 24, 8-11 am, as existing hardscape is removed and plants are relocated to other parts of the Garden. Parking will kindly be provided by Fellini's at their lot on the west side of Colley Ave., directly across from the restaurant.
Come be a part of this unique partnership between CPRV residents, Norfolk's Master Gardeners, and the City of Norfolk. And bring a shovel!
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"All Call" from Chuck Gibson of the Norfolk Master Gardeners Volunteers, 10/20/09:
Hello Gardeners!
Saturday, October 24, 8:00 - 11:00 is the first work day of the Knitting Mill Creek Community Garden / Fellini's Rain Garden. The owner of Fellini's has allowed us parking across the street from the restaurant, so as not to interfere with their lunch crowd. The Community Garden does not have heavy duty equipment. We will need as many shovels, hoes, rakes and wheelbarrows as can be provided. Please make sure your equipment is labeled so it will not get lost. The concrete and brick portion of the storm drain needs to be accessed by the city and a sink hole fixed. The goal of this weekend is to move and/or remove plants from the affected area, thereby allowing a city backhoe to access the storm drain. The plants that are to be removed are free for the taking, but the moved and saved plans have the priority and, with your help, will be relocated to another portion of the garden to over winter.
I look forward to seeing many volunteers this Saturday.
Chuck