Native Plant Garden: Building Community, One Park at a Time

Borrowing from Alameda County Master Gardeners’ amazing vision, Friends of Newark Demonstration Garden would like to spearhead the creation of a new open space—a Native Plants Garden (“Demonstration Garden”) in Newark, with native plants supplied by the SF Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge’s Native Plants Nursery, just a couple miles from the proposed garden.

We’d like this garden to showcase native drought-tolerant plants and sustainable landscaping techniques and provide educational and volunteer opportunities for home gardeners on design, planting, and maintenance. Our goal is to provide an open space that provides a space for residents to socialize with one another, building friendships and uniting the community.

We are currently in the site feasibility phase of this project, and we have our eye on a fabulous site at Ash Street Park. This private, SFPUC parcel borders a popular neighborhood park in an old part of town, providing a unique opportunity to enrich a neighborhood that needs a little TLC. Adjacent to Head Start, a daycare, a Senior Center, and a local church in a low-income neighborhood, this project offers an unusual open space to a number of at-risk youth and other underserved groups and weaves together people from different age, ethnic, and religious groups.

This parcel is currently unmaintained as evidenced by the dense weeds, litter, and broken glass, making the nearby picnic areas unattractive to park visitors who flock to the park for its attractive volleyball court, basketball courts, playground, soccer field, and walking path. SFPUC is well-known for supporting community gardens by providing right-of-way leases at little to no cost.
Help us deliver on this vision!

Contact: Angela at info@newarkparks.org
Join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/NewarkDemonstrationGarden/
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Website: https://www.newarkparks.org