The grand opening of Highland Park’s first community garden will take place on Saturday, May 9, 2009 from 9:00 AM- Noon. The 10,000 square foot garden, located at 115 S. Avenue 56 adjacent to the historic Highland Theater, features more than thirty raised plots for the cultivation of vegetables, fruits and flowers. It also features a gathering circle where classes, workshops and community events will be held. For decades, the property, owned by the Department of Transportation, remained a vacant lot full of weeds surrounded by barbed wire. The efforts of numerous community members, along with the generous support of Los Angeles City Councilman Ed Reyes, Assemblyman Kevin De Leon, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, the Los Angeles Community Garden Council, the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council and the Home Depot led to the transformation of the site. The grand opening will include a blessing of the land performed by John Funmaker, Spiritual Leader of the Ho’Chunk Nation. Robert Gottlieb, PhD, Director of the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute, Occidental College will speak on the environment, while Katherine Alexander, PhD and Emily Ventura PhD, MPH, from the Department of Preventative Medicine at the University of Southern California will speak about health. Councilman Ed Reyes and Assemblyman Kevin De Leon will also be in attendance. About the Organization: The Milagro Allegro Community Garden is a non-profit organization organized under the umbrella of the Los Angeles Community Garden Council, which supports 70 community gardens in Los Angles County. The gardens serve nearly 4,000 families and prove to be vibrant, cooperative organizations that build neighborhood self-reliance, and reduce poverty, mitigate global warming and benefit the environment. What: Grand Opening of Milagro Allegro Community Garden in Highland Park Where: 115 S. Avenue 56, Los Angeles (Highland Park), 90042 When: Saturday, May 9, 2009 9 AM-Noon
Contact: (323) 244-6039 or nativewoman@earthlink.net
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