By Viki Goto | LA Conservation Corps
Thanks to our supporters, the East LA Community Garden & Urban Farm has completed the first phase in its planned renovation! The dilapidated garden beds that had been abandoned for more than a decade were removed, the gazebo which will be retained has been sanded in preparation for painting and repairs, and trash and debris that had accumulated around old storage sheds have all been cleared away. In the last two months, our corps members have begun grading the hillside to level out the growing space, removed dead and diseased trees and will begin excavating old irrigation pipes in two weeks to make way for a new system to be installed.
Our partners at Farmworks LA (FWLA) have been finalizing the design plans, which will include a wooden deck adjacent to the gazebo for outdoor classes and community workshops (the updated plan will be posted soon!) Additionally, FWLA has created an off-site nursery where under-served youth are germinating seeds in anticipation of a late spring/early summer planting.
Corpsmember Jose Carreon Padilla, who drove the Bobcat while the crew was working on grading and extracting large tree stumps, says "when the garden is finished I hope that the community gets closer and help(s) each other. I want to see the garden grow and produce many types of fruits and veggies. What I'm hoping is to see people enjoy their produce and be happy working together to improve the community."
Guadalupe Rosales is a 22 year-old corpsmember who has been at the LA Corps for 16 months. She noted "some of the things students could learn from coming to the garden will be that locally grown food is sustainable and better for them." She is looking forward to having more space to grow a bigger variety of plants.
The next phase will be to dig trenches for the irrigation lines and to shore up the small road that is used for vehicles and construction equipment. Stay tuned for more updates and thank you again for helping to make this dream garden a reality!
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