Kudos: Stuart Brown part of Tree Street community

Transcription

1 Kudos: Stuart Brown part of Tree Street community spirit - Lewisto... Kudos: Stuart Brown part of Tree Street community spirit By Andrew Rice, Staff Writer - May 14, 2018 Stuart Brown, a member of the Raise-Op Housing Cooperative, recently rolled up his sleeves to help work on the neighborhood s Heart & Soil vegetable garden in downtown Lewiston. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal) LEWISTON Last week on Birch Street, more than 100 people wielding rakes and shovels moved a giant, 35-cubic-yard pile of soil into a few dozen garden beds. In the middle of it all was Stuart Brown, wearing heavy-duty work gloves and carrying load after load of dirt in a wheelbarrow. 1 of 5 5/14/18, 8:01 AM

2 I ve been in Lewiston a long time, and I ve never seen this many people gathered for a goo thing, he said. The event, organized by Healthy Neighborhoods, was a celebration of the Heart & Soil Veget Garden in the Tree Street neighborhood, which neighborhood advocates say is symbolic of th type of projects needed to revitalize the area. The downtown neighborhood is bordered by Maple, Blake, Birch, Howe, Ash and Park streets In the weeks prior, Brown, a volunteer and resident of the Raise-Op Housing Cooperative ne door, helped survey neighborhood residents to determine what to do with the property, and assisted in planning Thursday s garden celebration. Raise-Op acquired the parcel last year, and decided to get neighborhood input on how it sho be utilized. According to Raise-Op coordinator Craig Saddlemire, the garden is the culminatio input and leadership from more than 70 neighborhood residents. While taking a break from shoveling, Brown said there was a good amount of skepticism am neighbors whether the project would even get off the ground. He said it comes from years o disappointment in the neighborhood. People are also worried it could get vandalized, he said However, Brown, who lives just a few steps from the garden, said he ll be watching over it a much as possible. Brown said while canvassing the neighborhood, he and others tried to get as many people involved as they could, making sure to eliminate any language barriers. The effort seemingly paid off. At the height of the event, dozens of people were milling arou the beds, using buckets to transport compost or rakes to spread it. The garden will also feat pear and peach trees, which were planted the same day. Brown, a U.S. Army veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division, also used to volunteer at a Veter 2 of 5 5/14/18, 8:01 AM

3 Affairs Home in Oxford, helping with veteran peer support services. He has raised his childre and grandchildren in Lewiston, and is retired because of health reasons. But, his health isn t slowing him down. He credits his passion for the neighborhood with gett involved with Raise-Op. I was sort of down and out when Craig (Saddlemire) came along and sort of opened my eye bit, he said. I try to help out every way I can. We need more people to step up. All it takes smile, a handshake and an example. Brown has also taken part in the annual Day of Caring organized by the United Way of Androscoggin County. Saddlemire said the most common response from the neighborhood during canvassing was t need for a community garden. He said the name of the garden came from someone mishear the original idea of Heart & Soul, and Heart & Soil was kept as the name instead. Healthy Neighborhoods is a collaboration of community stakeholders seeking to transform th Tree Street neighborhood. The organizations include Raise-Op, Goodwill s Take 2 YouthBuild Root Cellar, Community Concepts and more. The group is optimistic following a $1.3 million Choice Neighborhood Grant earlier this year through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The grant is meant to assist Lewiston in planning more transformation projects such as the vegetable garden, including p for more community space and safe and affordable housing. This is the model for what we d want to do on a bigger level, not just green space, Saddlem said about the vegetable garden. He said for residents, the garden is a way to engage. For residents in the neighborhood who are used to being let down a lot, to actually give inp and see something happen, he said. 3 of 5 5/14/18, 8:01 AM

4 Kudos: Stuart Brown part of Tree Street community spirit - Lewisto... Lots to Gardens, a St. Mary s Nutrition Center program, is going to manage the lot once complete. During Thursday s event, Brown addressed the crowd of people while they took a short break from moving dirt. People had skepticism that this would even happen. Well, here it is, it s happening, he said. Thank you very much, keep shoveling. arice@sunjournal.com Stuart Brown works with members of the community to move soil into raised garden beds at 4 of 5 5/14/18, 8:01 AM

5 Lewiston s Heart & Soil Vegetable Garden on Thursday. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal) Read about our commenting guidelines. 5 of 5 5/14/18, 8:01 AM