The Outdoor Urban Oasis

Tonight we had our first conceptual meeting for our April/May project: Save the Planet BY Nurturing the Children! Based on a site visit conducted by Frank and Stephen on 12/12/08, this meeting was an opportunity to narrow our scope and brainstorm initial action items.

Overarching Goals:
1: Integrate Salvaged Materials from the Vernacular Urban Landscape
2: Engage all 5 senses: see, feel, smell, hear, taste
3: Urban Oasis: break the winds, mute the sounds
4: Water Neutral: no irrigation, no runoff
5: Safety for Kids: physical/natural barriers
6: Sustainability is Maintenance-Free (no mowing!)

Project Workflow:
1: Site Hydrology, infiltration, runoff calculations
2: Rain Garden Design, storm management
3: Soil restoration, erosion prevention, aeration
4: Plants!
5: Fencing and Aesthetics

Warming the Homeless in Style!

After meeting this week, some of us are working on getting together February's activity: Warming the Homeless. We are planning to make blanket rolls to hand out at local shelters.

Several fabric reps have donated samples of discontinued patterns, and more are coming in every day. The plan is to assemble a small army of volunteer seamstresses to piece them together into patchwork quilts that can be folded and tied into portable bedrolls. I am working on getting donations of batting and/or backing from hobby stores, and Melissa McGee is gathering the fabric samples. There are many benefits to using commercial fabrics: they are more durable, stain resistant, some are anti-microbial, and they come in great colors and patterns! One square of each quilt will have an ironed-on directory of local shelters and soup kitchens, and the bus lines they can be found on.

Anyone with a sewing machine, or the desire to learn to use one, is welcome to pitch in! Work party dates to-be-announced!