PEACEWORKS!

The Maxfield City Garden has been an ongoing project to get youth and the neighbors in the surrounding area involved with community gardening. Each year progress has been made in cultivating a once vacant and overgrown abandoned lot into a productive green space. “This year we are building raised beds which will be filled with compost and certified organic soil in the garden in the hopes that youth groups and city residents will adopt a plot to grow vegetables,” says Colleen Millett, Peace Works project assistant. The garden offers access to water, garden tools, a shed, and free seeds for vegetables, flower and herbs. The raised beds are 8 feet by 4 feet and are 12 inches deep. Check out the before and after photos below:

Maxfield City Garden, New Bedford MA (Before):

Maxfield City Garden, New Bedford MA (After):

News Article:

http://www.southcoast.org/news/releases/2008/051308a.html

Peaceworks would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for contributing to the Maxfield City Garden:

New England Environmental Grassroots Fund
America the Beautiful Seed Program
Wal-Mart
Women’s Fund
UMASS Amherst Nutrition Program
Community Foundation of Southeastern MA Women’s Fund Philanthropy Initiative
Rotary Club
Buzzard Bay Garden Club
Wal-Mart
Home Depot
Lowes
Mary Rapoza
Southside Community Landtrust
Kathy Furze-Spencer from Dighton-donated her greenhouse 2009 season
Jibdoos Garden

Culture Club is a youth garden club located at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater New Bedford and sponsored by the Bristol County Sheriffs Office. The idea of the Culture Club is to offer interested children from the club an opportunity to be involved in a positive environment that promotes peace.

The Culture Club worked on a “peace garden” project last year. We designed and created a garden outside the club. Once a week the club coordinator and the children would take part in following through with the vision of completing the project located at the north entrance of the club. In the Fall of 2005 the club members planted daffodils in the shape of a huge peace sign. In the spring the coordinator and the children worked hard to finish the garden site before school was out for the summer.

The Culture Club is also about promoting health and nutrition as well as physical activity that is associated with planting and gardening. This year the coordinator will be using a curriculum offered through Junior Master Gardner. This program offers horticultural and environmental science education and leadership and life skills development through fun and creative activities. The JMG program is committed to helping young people become good gardeners and good citizens so they can make a positive contribution to their community family and school.

UMASS Amherst Nutrition Program

An ongoing grant funded program that works throughout the year once per month providing healthy, nutritious and educational lessons to the members of the Agri~Culture Club at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater New Bedford.

Some other topics that Peace Works covers with the Culture Club are cooking, sustaining food resources, cultural awareness and conflict resolutions. By teaching youth about wellness, teamwork and conservation we hope to empower youth to take charge of their own health, life and the environment.