The community’s long dream of the North Columbia Heights Green is coming true.  Stage Two sitework is now complete, and we are now at last doing the fun part of planting and furnishing the Green!  Here’s what’s been done:

• Nearly all the . . . → Read More: Green Update]]> August 28, 2010
Dear Green Partners,

The community’s long dream of the North Columbia Heights Green is coming true.  Stage Two sitework is now complete, and we are now at last doing the fun part of planting and furnishing the Green!  Here’s what’s been done:

• Nearly all the rubble (many truckloads) has been excavated and removed.
• The stormwater engineering, grading, fence, gate, kiosk, bollards, and parking are all
complete.
• Most of the butterfly garden is in.
• The raised bed garden frames are constructed and installed.
• The first layer of topsoil is down.

Here are the next steps:
1. Spread the rest of the topsoil and mulch.
2. Add organic compost to the planting beds.
3. Install rain barrels.
4. Construct the pavilion and greenhouse.
5. Install and paint the storage space.
6. Set up the compost area.
7. Plant the Rain Garden.
8. Plant the Berry Patch.
9. Plant the Grape Arbor.
10. Plant the trees (including fruit trees such as serviceberry).
11. Add children’s art, play, and discovery features.
12. Install solar lighting.

The next Work Day at the Green will take place in conjunction with Columbia Heights Clean-Up Day next Saturday, September 4, from 9-1. At 12 Noon, we will have a ceremony to celebrate the beginning of planting the garden plots.  Next month, we will begin using the Green as a base of green job training.  We are planning a full range of programs and planting for the Fall.  Winter crops will include hardy
greens for salads and cooking, herbs, garlic, turnips, radishes, and sweet potatoes.  We are now signing up gardeners and other partners. If you know of youth, school, or community groups wanting to do programs at the Green, or if you know of people, groups, or businesses who would like to plant Fall and Winter crops in the Green, please let us know.  Thanks for all that you have done through the years to make this happen.

Happy gardening and greening!

Steve Coleman
Washington Parks & People

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We’ll also be giving away free lemonade (while it . . . → Read More: Columbia Heights Day is Here!]]> Look for our booth at Columbia Heights Day on Saturday!  We’ll be selling amazing t-shirts, designed by Robbie Behr, for fifteen dollars each.  Grab one while they last: we only have 100 total, in sizes ranging from small to XXL.

We’ll also be giving away free lemonade (while it lasts) and providing tons of useful information about both our organization and general neighborhood resources.  Be sure to stop by and sign up if you want to get involved in upcoming neighborhood community service projects, planning a CH block party, green space improvement, or whatever local issues you want us to address.  Look forward to meeting you there!

In the meantime, become an NCHCA fan on Facebook.  And don’t forget about next week’s meeting (Wednesday, September 1st at 7:00) and clean-up (September 4th).

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Columbia Heights . . . → Read More: National Night Out Tuesday: Behind DCUSA]]> National Night Out is this Tuesday, August 3rd. Please come out to show your support for a safe, drug-free communities! This is also an excellent opportunity to come out and show your support for our hard-working 3D Police and thank them in person for their many successes!

Columbia Heights will have a very special and exciting event, a BLOCK PARTY that will be fun for the whole family!

• Music & DJ, barbequed food, snow cones, refreshments
• Soccer / Basketball games & contests with prizes and awards! BMHS soccer teams will be supporting NNO!
• Dunk Tank, Face Painting, Fingerprinting Kits
• Inflatable Obstacle Course – Compete against friends, family, and co-workers!
• Information on burglary prevention, credit card fraud, online child safety, and other safe and secure measures.
• Potential Guest Appearances from Buzz Lightyear!

There will be music, barbecue, and games for the kids–FUN, FUN, FUN! Please come and bring your neighbors! The Block Party will be from 5 PM to 8 PM at the Soccer Field behind DC USA (on Hiatt Place).

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Construction is expected to begin this week on a new writing center for 826DC, the local affiliate of a national youth writing program founded by author Dave Eggers. Up until now, . . . → Read More: 826DC Construction at Park Triangle]]> This week, 826DC begins the build-out of its new community writing center and retail storefront at Park Triangle:

Construction is expected to begin this week on a new writing center for 826DC, the local affiliate of a national youth writing program founded by author Dave Eggers. Up until now, the non-profit has visited area schools to encourage the creative and expository writing skills of local students. While in-class instruction will remain, the new space will give the organization a permanent home for writing workshops and drop-in tutoring sessions. The center will inhabit the old Score space on Columbia Heights Plaza, and should be open for business by autumn.

Like all 826 chapters, the DC center will also boast a wacky storefront. The concept will be the “Museum of Unnatural History,” which is being touted as “the world’s leading authority on all aspects of nature that defy explanation, confound the scientific community, and fly (sometimes literally) in the face of everything we thought we knew about the world around us.” I am not exactly certain what this means, but I’m hoping it somehow incorporates Bat Boy of Weekly World News fame. Even if it doesn’t, the idea promises to bring added spirit and energy to an already spirited community.

Welcome to the neighborhood, 826!

This should be  a wonderful new community resource.  For those unfamiliar with David Eggers, I particularly recommend his book about Sudan, What is the What.

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Great news: The general contract work is about to begin!  This will start with the fence and bollards, then the parking area.  This phase of work will finish next month.   

As soon . . . → Read More: July North Columbia Heights Green Update]]> We are writing to update you on the progress of transforming the North Columbia Heights Green (NCHG).

Great news: The general contract work is about to begin!  This will start with the fence and bollards, then the parking area.  This phase of work will finish next month.   

As soon as the fence is up, we need help building the planter boxes and advancing the landscape.  Please let us know if you are interested in participating in this phase of the project.

With the help of local volunteers, we were able to clear debris and excess materials from the site, and are looking forward to the grading portion of the project as well.

We are still concerned with the illegal dumping onto our site. Although not to the severity of prior instances, dumpers still ignore our signs and site protection fence and continue their illegal behavior.  So we need your continuing help to let us know if you see anything dumped or being dumped on the site. 

Once again, we thank you for your continuous support and help with this process and look forward to the implementation of NCHG as a sustainable Green for the entire community.

All the best,

Garry Meus, Project Manager
Steve Coleman, Director
Washington Parks & People
Josephine Butler Parks Center
2437 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC  20009
202.462.7275 (o)
202.234.3342 (f)
www.washingtonparks.net

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Bravo