Have you a green thumb yearning to be used? Want to spend some time outdoors, in the company of like-minded people, while getting good exercise? The Promenade Partners have a deal for you:
Spring is here and the gardens that line the Promenade are blooming with thousands, yes, thousands, of daffodils, hyacinths and tulips, thanks to the Promenade Partners.
This hardy band of volunteer gardeners was organized by a Public-Private Partnership of the Brooklyn Heights Association and the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.
Now they’re calling for more volunteers. As their leader, Parks Department gardener Jonathan Landsman, observes, “the Promenade is one third of a mile long, and that means a lot of digging, planting, mulching, pruning … and volunteers, if we are to restore and maintain the Promenade Gardens in the face of Parks Department budget cuts.”
Landsman, an alumnus of the Cornell Masters Program in Horticulture, is also an enthusiastic instructor. “Many of our volunteers start as green beginners and by fall they’re confident gardeners, and invaluable helpers.”
“It isn’t just about gardening,” says Neil Calet, who heads the BHA’s Promenade Committee , “It’s also a way to involve our community in a creative, healthy very enjoyable project; in the Promenade gardens it isn’t only the plants that grow, friendships do, too. And as any gardener will tell you, it’s great therapy.”
If you’re interested in volunteering with the Promenade Partners email promgarden@aol.com or just show up at the Montague Street entrance any Tuesday at 9:30 AM.
