NeighborWorks Affiliates' Green Projects

"Greening Your Community" Efforts - View Photos on Flickr!

Community Gardens

California Collaborative Urban Farmette Demo
New Directions Housing Corporation, Louisville, KY

Charlie Buffone Community Garden,
Oak Hill Community Development Corporation, Worcester, MA

Edibile Estate Community Garden,
Foundtion Communities, Austin, TX

Franklin Park Outdoor Classroom
Neighborhood Housing Services of Southeast Wisconsin, Inc.

Green Space

“Cool Kingston” Green Trail
Rural Ulster Preservation Company, Kingston, NY

Native Habitats and Demonstration Garden
Community Neighborhood Housing Services, St. Paul, MN

Community Gardens

California Collaborative Urban Farmette Demo
New Directions Housing Corporation, Louisville, KY

After the local health department designated their neighborhood a food desert, New Directions Housing Corporation (NDHC) and three other members of Louisville, Kentucky’s California Collaborative neighborhood organization teamed up this summer to transform 18 tons of rich earth into a 10-bed urban farmette community garden. 

NHDC Assistant Director Lisa Thompson says, “Health [was] being compromised because family leaders [couldn’t] easily find fresh fruits and vegetables in the neighborhood.” She says residents are using the new garden to “reclaim community history” in an area that once grew its own food in World War I-era victory gardens. Read more about this effort [PDF]. »

The Charlie Buffone Garden
Oak Hill Community Development Corporation, Worcester, MA

The Oak Hill Community Development Corporation (CDC) located in Worcester, Massachusetts, has successfully implemented a formula for engaging their youth in green related activities. They have been put in charge of the Charlie Buffone Garden, a community garden they nurture with care. When the garden is not being maintained by the youth, it is being maintained by one of the many community resident volunteers. Continue reading about this youth-led community garden [PDF]. »

Edible Estate Community Garden
Foundation Communities, Austin, TX

Foundation Communities, an Austin-based NeighborWorks Organization, has created a model of sustainability by converting the front lawn of its Sierra Ridge Apartments into a vibrant, food-producing community garden. The organization plans to use the garden to foster cohesion among its residents as the development of condominiums and high-end boutiques comes closer to their neighborhood. Read more about Edible Estates[PDF]»

Franklin Park Outdoor Classroom
Neighborhood Housing Services of Southeast Wisconsin, Inc,Racine, WI

Photo by Thomas Aviles

Neighborhood Housing Services of Southeast Wisconsin has been working with students at Racine, Wisconsin’s Walden III Green School to build an outdoor classroom featuring a garden with flowers, native plants and a rain garden component. In addition to physically planting the garden, students have been extraordinarily active in all phases of the project. They worked with a local landscape architecture student to design the garden, prepared the garden’s site during their Make a Difference Day last fall and created a tile mural to make the garden more noticeable to passers-by. Read more the outdoor classroom [PDF] »

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Green Space

“Cool Kingston” Green Trail
Rural Ulster Preservation Company, Kingston, NY

As a member of the Kingston Green Trail community development alliance, Rural Ulster Preservation Company (RUPCO) is developing a bike-friendly green corridor to reduce its community’s impact on climate change. RUPCO and the alliance plan to transform a 2.5-mile stretch of Kingston, New York’s historic business core into a green trail complete with container gardens, bike racks and bike lanes.  RUPCO Community Development Director Guy Kempe says the alliance will “sponsor improvements to make the urban environment more friendly to nature, residents and visitors.” Read more about Cool Kingston Green Trail [PDF]. »

Native Habitats and Demonstration Garden
Community Neighborhood Housing Services, St. Paul, MN

To reduce its impact on the natural environment, Community Neighborhood Housing Services (CNHS) has altered its office landscaping to more accurately reflect native habitats found in the St. Paul, Minnesota area.

The CNHS office building is located along the banks of the Mississippi River, so any runoff from the building goes directly into the river and contributes to pollution downstream. CNHS Business Portfolio Manager Larry Mundt says that “adding new native plants and prairie grasses and creating better water drainage has decreased pollutants going into the river.” Read more about CNHS' native habitats and demonstration garden [PDF]. »

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