Patchen Community Square
A collaborative effort to utilize the vacant land parcel at Patchen Avenue and Putnam to create a garden and small play area.
About the project
Our community residents are coming together to create a garden and play area that would be a great educational and preservation tool. It would also provide a place for younger children to interact with their peers in a safe and protected environment. Having both a garden and play area is a remarkable place to encourage and cultivate hands-on interactive, kinesthetic, multi-sensory environmental learning. The garden and play area would also create community unity, community integrity, better community health and community pride.
The Steps
We have applied and are eagerly awaiting approved for full use of the space. We hope to have full approval for use is by June 2012. Our goal is to have the space cleared of weeds and rubble cleared by July 2012 in anticipation for the Patchen Avenue Block Association's block party.
Our first step to meet this goal is to rent a small backhoe/bucket loader to clear the rubble and level the lot. Then building the ground up and creating a barrier between the contaminated dirt and the community by getting wood chip from the city.
Why we‘re doing it
This project is addressing the following needs:
- providing a safe and protected environment for children
- a gathering and community space for neighbors
- encouraging education and community building through events and gardening