Hartford in Progress july1012 - Hartford Police Department - City of ...

Calendarof EventsSaturday, July 21, Green Team Event,9 AM – 1 PM, Homestead & GardenRSVP to Charmaine atcharmainec@knoxparks.org or 860-951-7694, ext 14.Thursday, August 2, Garden Tour &Twilight Dinner, 5:30 – 9:00 PM, Houseof the Good Shepherd, 155 WyllysStreet. Tickets on sale now atwww.knoxparks.org or 860-951-7694.Saturday, September 15, Green TeamEvent on Tremont Street, 9 AM – 1 PM,RSVP to Charmaine atcharmainec@knoxparks.org or 860-951-7694, ext 14.Saturday, October 13, HartfordMarathon. Run for the Knox Team.Contact Barb atbarbaran@knoxparks.org or 860-951-7694, ext. 21Saturday, October 20, Green TeamEvent at the South Branch, 9 AM – 1PM, RSVP to Charmaine at charmainec@knoxparks.orgor 860-951-7694, ext 14.Community Garden CornerCelebrating 40 years ofCommunity Gardeningin the City of Hartford!BY: H. CHARMAINE CRAIGIn 1972, Knox established its first communitygarden in Keney Park, makingHartford one of the first cities in the UnitedStates to do so since World War II. Gardensare a valuable community asset especiallyin the inner-city where food security andgreen space are scarce commodities. For 40years, the Knox Community GardeningProgram has provided residents with land,water and the opportunity to cultivatetheir own food.Highlights: With the support and financialassistance of United States Departmentof Agriculture, Aetna, the HartfordFinancial Services, CT Department ofEnergy and Environmental Protection,UnitedHealthcare, CT Department ofAgriculture, the Fund for Greater Hartfordand NOFA, the community garden programwill accommodate another 75 gardenersby increasing gardening space from5 to 8 acres.At Earle Street, the garden is currentlyunder construction. Fencing and irrigationis being installed and 20 new gardeners areexpected to break ground by the end ofJune. This is a remarkable victory: usingagriculture as a tool for urban revitalization,green space preservation, and sustainablefood production in a needy neighborhood.Two new gardens have been created atOpen Hearth (a residential facility forhomeless men). There is a small herb gardenjust outside of the kitchen and a largevegetable garden at their wood yard. Bothgarden spaces are tended by the staff andclients.KNOX PARKS75 Laurel StreetHartford, CT 06106860-951-7694www.knoxparks.orgCorporate PartnersKohl’s, April 24: In commemorating EarthDay and Mayor Segarra’s Celebration of ourParks, 55 dedicated Kohl’s volunteersbraved gusty winds and chilly temperaturesto replenish the tree canopy in GoodwinPark, planting 37 new trees. Since 2009,Jerry Nocera and his merry band of workershave toiled in Wexford, Bushnell andGoodwin Parks and contributed $45,000towards the preservation of Hartford’sgreen infrastructure. Kohl’s Cares is a wonderfulexample of local business pitchingin!The Hartford, April 27: The HartfordFinancial Services Group, the Village forFamilies and Children and the City ofHartford celebrated Arbor Day 2012, planting11 new trees at Gray Lodge on SpringStreet. The Hartford Financial ServicesGroup continues to support Knox’s greeninginitiatives and the Asylum Hill neighborhood.Thea Montanez and AnnMarieLaBreck have been instrumental in keepingthe community connections solid.Aetna, May 10: Twenty-seven eager andenergetic Aetna employees were deployedto the corner of Main and Trumbull tospruce-up the lingering eyesore remainingafter the demolition of the infamous “Butt-Ugly” building. Knox staff and Green Crewworked side by side with Aetna volunteersto transform the corner - 25 UprightJunipers in planters were placed outside ofthe wrought iron fence, thus softening theharshness of concrete and providing a treescreen.At the tree grove across the street,they edged and mulched tree rings around25 amazing Japanese Lilacs (wisely plantedby former forester John Kehoe). This veryvisible and well-traveled corner now has anew and refreshed look. Shout out toBrenda Pabon who organized the projectfrom the Aetna side with the support ofChris Montross. In addition, thank you toGlen Geathers and Wayne Benjamin of theHartford Redevelopment Agency for theirsupport and perseverance. Aetna and theHartford Redevelopment Agency bothmade generous donations to cover the costfor this project.Prudential Financial Services, May 10:Thirteen employees from Prudential volunteeredat Wexford Park. Again with theguidance and support of Knox staff andGreen Crew, the Prudential volunteers laiddown 50 yards of mulch to obliterate thegrowing problem of wanton weeds.Located on the north side of the HartfordBusiness Improvement District, WexfordPark has suffered from lack of attentionGarden StudyTerry Hennessy, a researcher coordinating aGarden Study for Knox Parks, has set up a testgarden at Knox Parks. As seen in the photo, hergarden technique is a study in ergonomic gardening!Theresa is helping to gather healthand wellness information from study participants,and will also be managing statisticsabout how much produce is grown in the participant’scommunity garden. You might seeher from time to time in one or more of the gardenlocations around the city. In the meantime,feel free to stop by and check out her garden!and resources. Most people do not realizethat this valuable piece of real estate existsand is a nationally known Skate Park called“Heaven.” The Prudential office toweroverlooks the park, which is usually trashfilled and overgrown with weeds.Prudential’s Valerie DeMarco and VincenzoDastoli approached Knox seeking to assistwith maintenance and upkeep by providingfunding and volunteers. This is anotherclassic example of the power of corporateand community collaboration. Prudentialhas just booked another day of volunteerismfor October 6th.UnitedHealthcare, May 11: 100+ UHCemployees descended on our new 3-acregarden paradise at Earle Street in the northeastneighborhood. They weeded, pickedup large amounts of debris, cut back invasivebrush and created 20 new communitygarden beds. It was a glorious sight seeingall these helping hands converting thisunused piece of land into a productivespace for food production, neighborhoodgathering, and a micro urban agriculturebusiness. This development will greatlybenefit the residents and Mt. MoriahChurch who is leasing the land to Knox for10 years. For the last two years,UnitedHealthcare has partnered with Knoxto expand our community garden program,providing more space, increasingyields and improving access to fresh, local,healthy produce. Maurice Edwards andMaria Tsitsirides have been heroic in organizinghuge numbers of volunteers fromtheir company to support the Knox missionwith their labor force and financialcontributions.Pratt and Whitney has a group of volunteerscoming downtown to revamp a greenspace at Homestead & Garden later thissummer!EDI Landscape has been a great supporterof Knox, donating petunias for the bloomspots and helping to prep the greenhousefor the party last March. Their work is wellknown, from landscaping at Hartford HighSchool to the color panorama at theFarmington Valley Shoppes in Canton,they have added beauty and inspirationeverywhere, including Knox!!TD Bank has brought in professionals toteach the AmeriCorps Green Crew aboutmoney management and investing! Theyare even available to help mentor crewmembers interested in starting their ownbusiness.Retail Spotlight: REIRecreational Equipment Inc., or REIas it is commonly known, quietly bolstersmany area nonprofit groups withgrant funds, volunteer support, andextra kindnesses too varied to name.Along with Knox, REI is a true partnerto the Farmington River WatershedAssociation, Riverfront Recapture andthe Connecticut Forest and ParksAssociation.Well, we’d like to thank REI for caringfor the green and blue places that keepHartford fun and healthy.If you’d like to thank them, stop bytheir local Co-Op and become a memberof the nation’s largest consumercooperative. As a member you will beeligible for profit sharing in the form ofa dividend, or 10% back on every fullpriceditem you need to get off thecouch and get outside. This includes apreventative poison ivy cream (one ofthe world’s greatest inventions) andmuch, much more!Green Crew NewsBY ERICUS ADAMSCommunity PartnershipsThis spring, the Green Crew partneredwith the Hartford Adult Education Centerto give the school a facelift. Studentshelped install planters and a raised gardento spruce up the neighborhood. The crewlooks forward to returning to the center tonot only take their G.E.D test, but alsoplant mums in the fall. Thanks to all of thevolunteers (both staff and students) forhelping to continue making the city ofHartford a greener place.Drive, Dedication, andDetermination = DarnellIt was around thistime last year thatDarnell McIntoshcouldn’t continue hisjourney as a GreenCrew member and wasexited from the program.Darnell was dealingwith personal issuesthat got in the way ofhim fully dedicating himself to not onlythe program but to his family.We frequently talked about his struggles.Eventually, it was clear to the both of usthat he could not continue serving as aGreen Crew AmeriCorps member.I am proud to say that Darnell overcamea lot of the struggles he faced. In March ofthis year, Darnell reapplied to join theGreen Crew program. While serving hiscommunity 40+ hours a week, he alsofound time to go back to school for hisHigh School Diploma.He credits the program for keeping himmotivated and supporting him, but Ibelieve he had the key to his success thewhole time. Darnell is currently doingresearch to find the best college for him.He is so excited about his future and can’twait to put his education award to gooduse! Congratulations Darnell!Program NewsThe Green Crew, a proud member of theAmeriCorps National Service Network, willmove from a 6-month program to a 12-month program. This change will help tobridge the gap of youth unemployment byconnecting members with more communityengagement opportunities and allowingthem to participate in the workforce readinesscomponent of the program. With thisnew program design, we will provide morein-depth trainings and educational opportunitiesto better prepare members forschool and job placements post graduation.The new program cycle is expected to beginSeptember 2012. Application will be availablemid-July 2012.Welcome NewBoard MembersKnox Parks is happy to welcome newboard members this spring. MauriceEdwards is a program manager and computerscientist at UnitedHealthcare. Heand his wife and three darling daughtersare avid gardeners and lovers of all thingsnature. Julie Daly is the executive directorof Hartford’s Young Professionals andEntrepreneurs (HYPE). Julie has been along time supporter of Knox and hasactively engaged HYPE’s membership withKnox volunteer events. Rich Dalidowitz isa business projects program manager withAetna. A true environmentalist, Rich evenknows the Latin names of trees andplants!!! He brings strong fiscal and nonprofitmanagement experience to theboard.