Like most gardens, Urban Patches require water, sun, time, and protection. Rabbits, birds, and other animals can quickly destroy your labor of love. Two common solutions are a barrier (fence, netting, etc.) and Wolf/Coyote Pee. Since I’m not certain how the latter is collected, I built a barrier out of 2-inch and ½-inch PVC pipe […]
We happy to announce that we have closed on the purchase of a Renew Indianapolis (Indy Land Bank) building and lot on 30th Street and Broadway in our Mapleton Fall Creek community, just one block away from our existing Park Garden. We will renovate the building and use a portion of the vacant lot as […]
We are working with Shortridge High School and the Shortridge High School Alumni Association to make improvements to the school to improve its urban environment and environmental education opportunities. With the generous help of volunteers and a grant to the school through Butler University’s […]
Inspiring urban neighborhoods is a family affair By Erika D. Smith “It really started with this picture of my grandfather.” Justin Moore fished around in the pocket of his suit jacket for his smartphone. He tapped the screen a few times, and found a black and white photo of a distinguished-looking, balding black man. The […]
Urban Patch has helped to start the Saint Nicholas Miracle Garden in Harlem. During Earth Week the group of community members received their approval to turn a vacant city-owned lot into one of the city’s newest Green Thumb sites, and had their first work day cleaning up the garden. The site is small (like everything in […]
We were recently awarded a grant from the Fall Creek Watershed Partnership’s cost share program to do native plantings and permeable paving at our Park Garden site. Thanks to goes to Leslie White and the Marion County Soil & Water Conservation District for their help!
Urban Patch has been working with community members and 596 Acres to create a new community garden in Central Harlem in New York City. The garden is currently a vacant city-owned site, but new garden member Vaughn Wallace found some research that the site was a garden over fifty years ago and was, in fact, the […]
Every year, ioby awards the Heroes In Our Backyards awards to those ioby project leaders that exemplify the ioby spirit of community activism. ioby Heroes In Our Backyards are hyper-local, community-based, entrepreneurial and tireless. In 2012, we awarded three groups with this award around the key tool for revitalizing urban centers: reimagining vacant space. The […]
