| City invests $6.5-million in Pins-Parc landscape
The Montreal city council executive committee voted in favour of a $6.5-million landscaping plan for the intersection of Pins and Parc avenues yesterday, easing community fears that the space would be sold for condo development.
It looks as though for once the city, the downtown, and the boroughs can agree, said Lucia Kowaluk, former coordinator of the Urban Ecology Centre, a community organization and think-tank that promotes participatory democracy and sustainable development.
Originally a roadway overpass, the Pins-Parc interchange was targeted for a large-scale redevelopment project beginning in 2004. The construction, completed last fall, demolished the crumbling overpass and replaced it with a flat intersection.
The project yielded a valuable swath of land adjacent to both Mount Royal and Jeanne Mance parks, which community members feared would be sold to a developer for high-rise condominiums.
Don't panic about the landscaping
Faced with what appears to be a home landscape decimated by a 100-year Easter freeze, it's easy to panic and start ripping out plants. The word from extension specialists is: Don't. “Do nothing at this point," said Bill Fountain, UK extension arboriculture specialist. “Plants have adapted to adversity with multiple secondary methods for remaining alive." But the 4-day Easter freeze did substantial damage because plants were at their most vulnerable stage, he said. One nursary crop specialist called the frigid air as the worst “in my 29 years in west Kentucky." Fountain said extension specialists “are watching and waiting to see if the damage will be limited to flowers, leaves and new tender stem growth, or if there will be bark damage and how extensive it will be." But Rick durham, UK extension consumer horticulture specialist holds out hope.
'The Garden Mama' to speak
Forrest General Hospital's Spirit of Women will host "Friendship Wednesday: Spring into Gardening with Nellie Neal, the Garden Mama," from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at Southern Oaks House and Gardens, 1246 Richburg Road. Neal will share her green thumb tips and a special prize will be awarded to the attendee with the most interesting hat. Neal will also sign her books, which will be available for purchase at the event. .
Projects and Development Officer
We are looking for a dynamic and committed individual to support the work of the Greenspace and Leisure Division in bringing local green spaces back to life by providing day to day assistance in delivering a programme of Capital Improvement Projects. You will be required to organise and manage project support work such as consultations, surveys and technical studies in partnership with the local community and relevant stakeholders. This will involve the management and responsibility of budgets and the preparation of materials for promoting and communicating the work of the Projects Section.With experience in Landscape project delivery and personal drive you will have the ability to enable a project delivery process from initiation to on-site completion and an ability to build trust with the community.
Sisterhood fundraiser at Haynie's Corner
It's no accident that the Urban Sisterhood's Earth Day Garden Party will include youth-friendly activities. The event takes place from noon to 11 p.m. Saturday in the Haynie's Corner Arts District area at Southest Second Street and Adams Avenue. It is a fundraiser for the Urban Sisterhood, a local group that promotes organic gardening. Youth-oriented activities that day include a parade and performance by the local drum line Boom Squad; a performance by hip-hop group Rhyme Rock; and numerous booths and vendors that include the Koch Family Children's Museum of Evansville. "We're gearing it towards the children during the day," said Heidi Krause, the Urban Sisterhood's co-founder. "We really want children to be involved in gardening, because they need to eat right." Other activities that day include performances by Tribe, Mermaid Dance Studio, Toby Ellis and Friends, Namaste and Spare Parts; and environmental talks by John Blair, president of watchdog group Valley Watch, and University of Southern Indiana professor Mary Lyn Stoll.
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