Library District Gateway Garden
My specific request that I am fundraising for is this. I would like to have a Little free Library as the centerpience in this gateway garden in order to engage the community to interact within the garden space.
Leader
Shari Leidig Holland
Location
Corner of Versailles and Coursin Streets, McKeesport, PA McKeesport, PA 15132
About the project
Recently in the Library District neighborhood if McKeesport, many vacant lots have emerged as a result of an initiative by the City [of Mckeesport] to tear down blighted and abandoned houses.Thanks to GTECH Strategies Reclaim program, I am one of 9 ambassadors adding beauty and community stability to the city. I am doing a ReClaim Vacant Land project with GTECH to establish a Gateway garden into the Library District neighborhood. The hope is to transform a vacant lot at the entry of the neighborhood to a beautiful gateway garden with perennial flowers, ornamental grasses, knockabout roses, and a great deal of beauty. The neighborhood is home to many local assets including the Carnegie Library of McKeesport. For this project I want to fundraise for a specific item for the garden. I want to purchase a Little free Library to be both an art piece and a functional centerpiece for the Library District Gateway Garden in McKeesport PA. This will also serve as a tool for engaging the community to interact with the garden space.We are fortunate to have lots of partners in this process, neighbors as well as organizations all volunteering for this project.
The Steps
1. plan to level and prepare the vacant land site with volunteers beginning May 5, 2015
2. layout the design
3. prepare woodchip walkway using donated woodchips
4. Plant perrenials on workday with volunteers
5. Purchase and install the Little Library
6. Stock little library with books donated by the Carnegie library by July 1, 2015
7. maintain on an ongoing basis
Why we‘re doing it
The philosophy of reclaiming vacant land to improve the social, economic and environmental health of the community is phenomenal and much needed in the Mon Valley area and this is what attracted me to be part of ReClaim McKeesport program with GTECH. The importance of beauty and community are central to me and the idea of transforming vacant land to something that builds community and provides beauty pushed my buttons. So here I am – please join me in making this happen!