East 76th Street Outdoor Education Park

My name is Dawn. In 2014 I walked up and down east 76th Street and I made a list of all the vacant lots and overgrown fields on my street. I called the city and asked if someone could come out to mow the lots and I asked them why nobody had come. They told me that they only come if someone calls. That was the beginning of this journey. I knew that I had to create an environmental change that if the space looked like someone cared for it, then people would begin to care for it.  We've already done some projects.  For example, we created a "Remember Me" space under a tree to honor friends, family members, and neighbors who are no longer with us.  The Hosta plant, Remember Me, was planted to symbolize our memories. Now we're coming together as neighbors to create a local skill-share space on our own block. 

In 2015 I started going door to door asking my neighbors if they'd be willing to come together to beautify the street and the majority of them agreed! It just so happened I met a master gardener who agreed to help us design the space. I was paying attention to my neighbors and saw that one by one their yards became more and more manicured. Flower beds were popping up here and then there. What I really wanted was for people to internalize the message that their space matters, that they matter. Now we're taking it one step further and we want to use the space to educate each other using our various skillsets. I've been using the space for school work and public reading to encourage others to use it that way as well with the right equipment that would encourage them to use the space. 

Purchase bench supplies

Doorknock to invite neigbhors out for a build day

Build seating with carpetner neigbhors and local kids from the street

Create a calendar of neigbhor led classes and invite everyone on the street to teach and learn all year!

I see my neighbors as assets. People come with so many gifts and abilities and that's what's allowing this project to grow.  Neighbor Michelle G. donated solar lights and Michelle H. brought us a trash can.  Haneefa helped with planting flowers.  I want to begin to plant a seed around education and lead by example. I found out that my neighbor Paulette was a carpenter in the military and is a ceramics artist.  Troy is crafty at designing things with tools, and Gail is good at mathematics and would love to share her skills with the kids on the street. 

I want the kids in my neigbhorhood to embrace learning and to develop a love for learning. I want them to be exposed to the broad spectrum of choices available to them. We have a liquor store to the west and a bar to the east.  The kids are surrounded by signs of what awaits them.  This park could serve as a space to gather, to explore, to learn and to be inspired by the possibilities that life presents.