Gardening in the City

Cambridge is full of lots of public spaces that are too small to be properly accounted for in budget and maintenance, but too large to just be ignored. So, often we end up with bare patches of dirt and empty tree boxes in places with far more potential.

Enter some active neighbors and their green thumbs, aka the Pick-a-Pocket Gardeners. Last year, these folks volunteered to adopt several City-owned pocket-gardens and maintainted them throughout the growing season. DPW kicked in some training and landscape materials.

This year, the group wants to expand, and so DPW is hosting a kickoff meeting next Wednesday (6/2) at 6:30pm at the DPW offices at 147 Hampshire Street.

From an invitation email from the aptly named Kathy Gardner:

[Last year, w]e all enjoyed the fresh air, interesting conversations, and exercise and we were greatly appreciated by passersby and businesses. We also improved our own and our neighbor's quality of life by promoting beauty in our environment. Can you beat that for a free activity?

This year the program is expanding to include more parks and more people. You may already have noticed a spot you would like to take care of -- we'll help you get started. At the meeting we will match volunteers with garden spaces in their neighborhood...

Please contact Ellen Coppinger, ecoppinger@cambridgema.gov for more information or to express interest.