CVN July 2008, page 11
First Friday's Garden Night Sprouts Community
With gas approaching nearly $5 a gallon, the least-cost place to get produce is one's own backyard garden.
To help residents of greater New Bedford convert their lawns into food-producing gardens, Sustainable SouthCoast (SSC) and the Wings Court Eco-Garden Project gave away compost, seedlings, and raised-bed garden frames at the June 6 First Fridays monthly cultural evening.
“Garden Night” drew residents from throughout the region to pick up what they needed to start a small backyard garden as well as help transform Wings Court. The Wings Court Eco-Garden Project will demonstrate plants that remediate lead and other toxins, show ways to manage stormwater ecologically, and establish edible landscaping and no-mow lawn alternatives.
The Wings Court Eco-Garden Project and the Downtown Bike Rack Projects are initiatives of the tentatively named New Bedford Green/Verde (NewB Green), a group of local activists interested in greening New Bedford and making it a more healthful, environmentally harmonious, and enjoyable place to live, with lower living costs. NewB Green is seeking volunteers to join in planning projects and events. Email NewBGreen@gmail.com or call 978-760-0034.
Gardeners were accompanied by music during First Friday's monthly 5 pm Community Sing Out and “New Works” featuring Joel Monty (http://www.myspace.com/joelmonty) and special guest Marcy Gregoire (http://marcymusic.org/).
The next First Friday event theme is Independence (from Foreign Fuel) Day, July 4, in Wings Court. Together with SSC, the group is planning energy art, presentations on reducing
