HGTV's Curb Appeal: The Block will premier an episode on Saturday, May 28th at 9 p.m. of two exterior makeovers done in the West End of Alameda, including one at the located at Longfellow Education Center.
The Multicultural Center submitted a proposal for a mini-makeover which was selected by Curb Appeal: The Block, resulting in the building of a school garden at Longfellow Education Center by the HGTV show in January of this year. The Multicultural Center worked with the Alameda Unified School District and HGTV to make the garden a reality.
Volunteers from the Multicultural Center, community and schools were filmed while planting the garden. The volunteers included students from Wood Middle School, Woodstock Child Development Center, Academy of Alameda and Nea Community Learning Center. Plants were donated by Ploughshares Nursery in Alameda and City Slicker Farms in West Oakland.
The name chosen for the garden was suggested by Sean McPhetridge, Alameda Unified School District Assistant Superintendent: "Longfellow Children's Garden." This name recognizes and honors the many children who have attended and continue to attend school at the Longfellow site since the first school, called the West End School, was established there in 1875!
Curb Appeal: The Block Hosts John Gidding, Kimberly Lacy and Chip Wade designed the garden, did hands-on work building the garden and led the project to completion. Producer Collin Herr of JOHLT Productions in Emeryville was the guiding force in coordinating and troubleshooting the project.
The main makeover in this episode took place at the Simon family home located two blocks from Longfellow Education Center. The exterior makeover of the home included replacement of the roof with Spanish tile and front yard landscaping.
For information on Curb Appeal: The Block, go to
<http://www.hgtv.com/curb-appeal-the-block/show/index.html>.
If you are interested in volunteering in the Longfellow Children's Garden, please contact the Multicultural Center at 510-521-9405 or <alamulticultural@gmail.com>.The Alameda Multicultural Community Center was founded in 1998 and merged with Koshland West End in 2007 to celebrate and support diverse communities within Alameda in collaboration with the school district, city and community organizations.
