Protecting and improving the community for the people who live and work here

Yikes!

Gorgeous (and frightful) Halloween in the Garden…for more images see below!

Visitors from the neighborhood, youth who group up in the MKG back to help out…donations from delicious neighbor Roni-Sue Chocolates

Organizer Jane and

Her CREW: Giovanna, Angi, Adam, Leo, Cameron, Lee

Decorating Prep

The “Customers”

Including local 5th Pct Youth Explorers, Maithri Sivaraman (Story walk in MKG/Columbia Teachers College), Lisa Mehos (bKind), Erika (former) Co-Chair MKG, K (Prez SRPCC) Gigi (former Chair CB3) and many wonderful people and costumes!!

Organized frighteningly well by Jane Barrer and assisted by her crew:

Thank you to all who made our ‘trial run’ to open the garden to our SRP Community Coalition partners at University Settlement during BRC Senior Protected Space hours (with their blessing!)

Thank you to all U.S. staff and leadership (Melissa Aase, Bridget O’Rourke, Deborah Roesch and Jaqueline Rivera)

Thank you to volunteers Jen Marcus (our Chair of the Children’s Area in MKGarden), Lisa Mehos (yoga of Bkind), Maithri Sivaraman (Story-walk, Columbia U Teachers College) and Howard Stern (Learning By Design, Abrams Arts/Henry St).

And to all the M’Finda Volunteer Gardeners (and thank you all volunteer Gardeners in SRP), who, over many years and days have kept this Garden as a sanctuary, work in progress and community resource.

And most of all, to the children who came interested, absorbed, excited, and ready to explore whatever we could put in front of them!

Chickens, Carp, Yoga, Read -Alouds, Story-Walk and just walking in nature… they were ready.

We’re pausing for the Fall but hope to start again in the Spring!

The fun!

The University Settlement Staff!! And Our Volunteers (listed below) and…The children! (and goodie bags for Parents and Children – from bKind

The volunteers: Jen Marcus (our Chair of the Children’s Area in MKGarden), Lisa Mehos (yoga of Bkind), Maithri Sivaraman (Story-walk, Columbia U Teachers College) and Howard Stern (Learning By Design, Abrams Arts/Henry St).

See you in the Spring!

NUMERA worked HARD with great cheer – painted the scraped and painted the rust from the fencing around Rivington Playground!

Partnerships for Parks Team: led by Jack with Tucker and Taka.

It took a village!

and…Terese inspected!

And then took the equipment home!

On behalf of all who use the patio from the Senior Center to the M’Finda Garden (BRC seniors, MKGardeners, SRPCC members, the CSA, all visitors who use the patio, all the events here Juneteenth, Alex Aron plays and more…

Thank you Heather Lubov, Executive Director of City Parks Foundation

Thank you Sabina Saragoussi, Director of Partnerships for Parks

and Thank you Ted Enoch 0f Partnerships for Parks and Catalyst,

And thank you Naz Nahar for always working hard for Partnerships for Parks

And Terese Flores, Park Supervisor who moved this forward (and all those who tried to move this forward! Andrew Knox, AAFE’s Nelson Chan, and the BRC)

Irit Houvras and Tom, Joe and MKG volunteer teams for the bench renewals

Rob Watson for your thoughts and the work in the front of the BRC and Permeable Pavers!!!

And Tessa Huxley for all her years of work in this park as a volunteer and teacher.

Thank you Michael Sheehan and Angi Chen volunteers.

Thank you K and Jim Cusick for knowing it wasn’t okay to leave this like this.

And most of all, Bob Humber, for waiting but never giving up.

As we await the already funded rebuild of Rivington Playground

(And hopefully soon funding for a Stanton Playground renovation and Hester Playground fixes)…

M’Finda Garden will work to create a beautiful, safe place for Children in this Park:

All who helped Lee make this possible:

Lee (who did most of the installing as well as building), K (boss lady and helper), Steve, Jim, David helpers!! Jen Marcus: Children’s Committee Head and advisor.

and

Partnerships for Parks, CityParks Foundation & Ted Enoch

Carp and Sparrow in the Turtle Pond in MKGarden, Bumble bees foraging, and a Downy  Woodpecker and a number of Vireos (the one below photographed by Tessa)!

Downy Woodpecker

Carp and Sparrow

Bumble bees

Vireo (via Tessa)

bKind‘s Lisa Mehos and University Settlement’s Day Care Team