Friday, August 8, 2008
Garden dedication (Lynn Item)
Last modified: Monday, August 4, 2008 11:53 PM EDT
Community officially breaks ground on Ford School Garden
By Dan Baer/The Daily Item
LYNN - Singing, joke telling and most importantly, planting seeds highlighted a kid-friendly groundbreaking at the new Ford School Community Garden Monday morning.A neighborhood plagued by violence over the last week was transformed into a place of joy by the smiling faces of children, community leaders and local residents, all of who expressed both pride and optimism for the future of the Highlands and the Ford School.“This garden is going to make the families here a part of this neighborhood,” said School Committee member Maria Carrasco. “Now people who live in the Highlands are able to get fresh produce from this garden. This is the first time that children are able to see where the food they eat every day comes from.”With Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr., Superintendent Nicholas Kostan and several other community leaders present, David Gass of the Highlands Coalition praised donors and students, especially those from Lynn Vocational and Technical Institute’s plumbing shop, for all of the efforts in bringing the garden to life.One theme among speakers Monday was that of surprise as they viewed the final product, three sleek, raised gardens atop what was once just a giant slab of asphalt.“I have to admit that in the beginning, I was a disbeliever. I thought no one would be able to plant a garden on that hot top,” said Claire Crane, principal at the Ford School. “But here it is, it is a success. This is another first for Lynn, this is going to be a model for urban schools. I have already had principals from other urban schools calling me asking how we did this.”Kostan praised both Crane and the community for coming together on the project, which will serve as an academic tool for the school along with its role as a community meeting area and food resource.“This project was wonderful in bringing the community together. We have a lot of great principals in this city, but no one brings a community together like Claire Crane,” Kostan said. “I have to admit when they first came to us with this project I asked, ‘How are you going to grow anything back there on that hot top,’ but this has been an unbelievable project and all of the great people involved deserve to be commended. I am so appreciative of all of their efforts and the efforts of so many people coming together.”The idea for the garden came last May when members of the Highland Coalition used funding from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to plant 58 trees along Green Street.Members saw the DCR’s funding as an opportunity to further beautify the community through the construction of a garden. With $10,000 from the DCR and the generosity of many throughout the community, volunteers and teenagers paid with a Workforce Investment grant were able to bring life to a desolate urban area.Construction began outside the Ford this spring with volunteers from the LVTI plumbing shop jack hammering the hot top and constructing pipes and supports for benches next to the gardens. Just a few months later crops are ready for harvesting and the majority of the project is complete.The gardens themselves are set atop the concrete and will eventually receive water from a roof-mounted cistern watering system.The Highlands Coalition is hoping to use the garden to bring immigrant residents and Lynn natives alike out of their homes to work together and take pride in their community.Some area residents did turnout for the groundbreaking and stayed along after to help plant seeds with school children from the Ford.
Community officially breaks ground on Ford School Garden
By Dan Baer/The Daily Item
LYNN - Singing, joke telling and most importantly, planting seeds highlighted a kid-friendly groundbreaking at the new Ford School Community Garden Monday morning.A neighborhood plagued by violence over the last week was transformed into a place of joy by the smiling faces of children, community leaders and local residents, all of who expressed both pride and optimism for the future of the Highlands and the Ford School.“This garden is going to make the families here a part of this neighborhood,” said School Committee member Maria Carrasco. “Now people who live in the Highlands are able to get fresh produce from this garden. This is the first time that children are able to see where the food they eat every day comes from.”With Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr., Superintendent Nicholas Kostan and several other community leaders present, David Gass of the Highlands Coalition praised donors and students, especially those from Lynn Vocational and Technical Institute’s plumbing shop, for all of the efforts in bringing the garden to life.One theme among speakers Monday was that of surprise as they viewed the final product, three sleek, raised gardens atop what was once just a giant slab of asphalt.“I have to admit that in the beginning, I was a disbeliever. I thought no one would be able to plant a garden on that hot top,” said Claire Crane, principal at the Ford School. “But here it is, it is a success. This is another first for Lynn, this is going to be a model for urban schools. I have already had principals from other urban schools calling me asking how we did this.”Kostan praised both Crane and the community for coming together on the project, which will serve as an academic tool for the school along with its role as a community meeting area and food resource.“This project was wonderful in bringing the community together. We have a lot of great principals in this city, but no one brings a community together like Claire Crane,” Kostan said. “I have to admit when they first came to us with this project I asked, ‘How are you going to grow anything back there on that hot top,’ but this has been an unbelievable project and all of the great people involved deserve to be commended. I am so appreciative of all of their efforts and the efforts of so many people coming together.”The idea for the garden came last May when members of the Highland Coalition used funding from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to plant 58 trees along Green Street.Members saw the DCR’s funding as an opportunity to further beautify the community through the construction of a garden. With $10,000 from the DCR and the generosity of many throughout the community, volunteers and teenagers paid with a Workforce Investment grant were able to bring life to a desolate urban area.Construction began outside the Ford this spring with volunteers from the LVTI plumbing shop jack hammering the hot top and constructing pipes and supports for benches next to the gardens. Just a few months later crops are ready for harvesting and the majority of the project is complete.The gardens themselves are set atop the concrete and will eventually receive water from a roof-mounted cistern watering system.The Highlands Coalition is hoping to use the garden to bring immigrant residents and Lynn natives alike out of their homes to work together and take pride in their community.Some area residents did turnout for the groundbreaking and stayed along after to help plant seeds with school children from the Ford.
all City Clean-up
Please keep our neighborhood clean!
The city of Lynn is conducting street sweeping next week. Please sweep your sidewalk and pull unwanted weed. Cars must be remove from the street. You will be fined and towed.
The city will conduct the sweep the week of August 11-15.
The city of Lynn is conducting street sweeping next week. Please sweep your sidewalk and pull unwanted weed. Cars must be remove from the street. You will be fined and towed.
The city will conduct the sweep the week of August 11-15.
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