Friday, November 18, 2011

Locals win Best Green Community Project award

The Bridgeview Teaching and Learning Garden, a project of the Quesada Gardens Initiative and its partners, accepted a Neighborhood Empowerment Network 2011 award for Best Green Community Project at a gala City Hall event on Thursday November 16th. Joel and Mary McClure, project leaders, and star volunteer Rika Kruse accepted the award on behalf of their neighbors and hundreds of other contributors.

Cheering from the audience were the Vidal Perez family (Vidal and his nephew, Jose, built the new gathering space and entryway at the Bridgeview Garden), QGI's founding gardener Annette Smith (also QGI Board Chair), and Chris Waddling (QGI Vice Chair) with his partner Tim Chan. Seth Wachtel, Professor of Architecture and Community Design at University of San Francisco (a major QGI partner) and Jeffrey Betcher, QGI organizer.

The open space project located at Bridgeview Drive and Newhall Avenue just above the original Quesada Garden has received support from Michael Lee Environmental Foundation, SF Environment, and the SF Community Challenge Grant Program. In addition to the new entryway, the site includes an art bench by Mark Baugh-Sasaki, and art glass signage by Herb Dang (Public Glass), both local folks with big hearts.

The garden is tended by neighbors including John, Sherry, Rika, Serenity, and the SEFA Food Guardians. Critical contributions also come from hundreds of individual and organizational volunteers.

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