2016 Pre-Conference

Half-Day Service Projects

8:30am-12:00pm on Wednesday, September 28

 

Since this is the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference, let’s reclaim some vacant properties! At the 2016 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference, you’ll have the chance to join one of the first-ever Pre-Conference Half-Day Service Projects, which will take place from 8:30am-12:00pm on Wednesday, September 28, 2016. This is your chance to get your hands dirty to help a Baltimore neighborhood, meet local leaders, chat with colleagues from around the country—and have fun!

Descriptions of the Half-Day Service Project opportunities are listed below. The service projects are now full. However, be sure to sign up for the waitlist when you register for the conference should spots become available.

Baltimore Green Space: Green Thumbs at the Duncan Street Miracle Garden

This service project is full. Please consider signing up for the waitlist when you register for the conference!

Baltimore Green Space invites you to help with gardening activities at the Duncan Street Miracle Garden. Baltimore Green Space, formed in 2007, partners with communities to preserve and support community gardens, forest patches, pocket parks, and other open spaces managed by city residents. The Duncan Street Miracle Garden is a 20+ year-old community garden located in east Baltimore. The garden provides free fresh fruit and vegetables to hundreds of low–income people each year. Moveable Feast, a nonprofit organization that provide meals to HIV and cancer patients, and Southern Baptist, a local church, are two of the many organizations that maintain a plot in the garden. Volunteers are needed to help with weeding, harvesting crops, and cleaning up the alley surrounding the garden. Enjoy this opportunity to see urban community gardening at its best, as well as sampling some of the fresh fruits and vegetables grown in the garden.

Service Project Volunteers will be transported by bus from the Hilton Baltimore at 8:30am to the Duncan Street Miracle Garden in east Baltimore and will be transported back to the Hilton Baltimore by 12 noon, in time for the official kick-off of the conference. All tools and supplies will be provided. Note that this Service Project will involve physical activity, such as weeding or collecting trash. Please wear long pants and sleeves, and sturdy closed-toed shoes.

Civic Works: Farming in South Clifton Park (East Baltimore)

This service project is full. Please consider signing up for the waitlist when you register for the conference!

Civic Works invites you to try your hand at urban farming at Real Food Farm’s Perlman Place site. Civic Works is a nonprofit that has worked for over 20 years to strengthen Baltimore’s communities through education, skills development, and community service. Real Food Farm is an innovative urban agricultural enterprise engaged in growing fresh produce while working toward a just and sustainable food system. The farm encompasses six acres of city parkland (Clifton Park site) and two acres of vacant lots (Perlman Place site). Volunteers are needed to help with tasks such as planting, weeding, invasive species removal, hoophouse construction, compost spreading, bed preparation, and fruit tree planting. The food grown on the farm is distributed at a Mobile Farmers’ Market, a CSA, farmers markets, local restaurants and institutions, and at free give-aways. Civic Works staff will be on-site to guide your efforts and share stories about the project and neighborhood.

Service Project Volunteers will be transported by bus from the Hilton Baltimore at 8:30 am to Real Food Farm’s Perlman Place site  and will be transported back again to the Hilton Baltimore by 12 noon, in time for the official kick-off of the conference. All tools and supplies will be provided. Note that this Service Project will involve physical activity, such as weeding or collecting trash. Please wear long pants and sleeves, and sturdy closed-toed shoes.

Civic Works: Greening Up Baltimore

This service project is full. Please consider signing up for the waitlist when you register for the conference!

Civic Works invites you to help create a community green space on a vacant lot, adopted by neighbors through the Adopt-A-Lot program. Civic Works is a nonprofit that has worked for over 20 years to strengthen Baltimore’s communities through education, skills development, and community service. Volunteers are needed to help with tasks such as planting perennials, shrubs, and trees; creating pathways, benches, and public art; weeding, mulching, and pruning; and trash pick-up. The Community Lot Team works directly with community members to design, fund, and implement green park spaces on blighted lots. The gardens incorporate native plants and stormwater mitigation elements. Civic Works staff will be on-site to guide your efforts and share stories about the project and neighborhood.

Service Project Volunteers will be transported by bus from the Hilton Baltimore at 8:30 am to the site and will be transported back to the Hilton Baltimore by 12 noon, in time for the official kick-off of the conference. All tools and supplies will be provided. Note that this Service Project will involve physical activity, such as weeding or collecting trash. Please wear long pants and sleeves that you don’t mind getting dirty, and sturdy closed-toed shoes.

Parks & People: Cleaning Up Harlem Park

This service project is full. Please consider signing up for the waitlist when you register for the conference!

Parks & People Foundation (Parks & People) invites you to help prepare a blighted space in West Baltimore for revitalization. For more than 30 years, Parks & People has revitalized neighborhoods through hands-on cleaning and greening, the building of partnerships to sustain green spaces, and programs that help children to learn, grow, and explore their natural environment. Volunteers are needed to clean-up the inner block parks and adjacent vacant lots, remove invasive plants, and care for street trees. The project is part of an ongoing effort undertaken by Parks & People, City and State government partners, and the Harlem Park community to convert five asphalt-covered inner block areas into vibrant, green spaces. The efforts are augmented by street tree plantings, other community-driven projects, and vacant lot improvement through City of Baltimore’s Growing Greening Initiative. Parks & People staff will be on-site to guide your efforts and share stories about the project and neighborhood.

Service Project Volunteers will be transported by bus from the Hilton Baltimore at 8:30 am to Harlem Park and will be transported back to the Hilton Baltimore by 12 noon, in time for the official kick-off of the conference. All tools and supplies will be provided. Note that this Service Project will involve physical activity, such as weeding or collecting trash. Please wear long pants and sleeves, and sturdy closed-toed shoes.