Thursday, June 24, 2010

Quesada Gardens get spring love

The landmark urban garden on the 1700 block of Quesada Avenue, just off 3rd Street in the heart of Bayview, was the focus of massive volunteerism once again this Spring. Large groups of students from UC Stanford mixed with neighbors and their friends to pull a half dozen stumps and invasive trees to give other plants in the garden room to breath.

The student groups have been volunteering with the Quesada Gardens Initiative since 2004, and are a valued part of the community-building network in Bayview. Also represented at the Sunday gathering were UC Santa Cruz, Michael Lee Environmental Foundation, and several friends of Quesada Gardens who were visiting as part of Sunday's streets closure in Bayview.

When resident leaders Joel McClure, Mary McClure, Tom Galante, Tony Tarket, Jacob Watta, Edward Allen, Carla Eagleton, Tai Tran, and Mark Philpot gave the thumbs up, the group gathered for a cook-out on the street to celebrate their work, and to share thoughts about community-building, sustainable eco-systems, grassroots strategies to link people to place, and the like.

The community work day left the "Bayview Is..." mural touched-up, the Founders' Memorial garden space cleared for finished landscaping on the hillside, and the lower garden weeded and ready for your visit.

Picture by Ralph Shardt, Michael Lee Environmental Foundation.

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