Members from the North Garland High School Key Club receive a Special Recognition award from the Office of the Mayor - October 20, 2015

Last night (October 20, 2015) Garland Mayor Doug Athas issued two Special Recognition certificates from the Office of the Mayor.  One award went to the North Garland High School Key Club for their joint effort with Loving Garland Green in the successful installation of a butterfly garden at North Garland High School.  The other award was made to Loving Garland Green, a local 401 (c) 3 nonprofit organization for their work as stewards of the Garland Community Garden at 4022 Naaman School Road as well as for our other community work--particularly with the youth of our community.  Members of Loving Garland Green in attendance included Chris Savage, Vice President of the Board; Anita Opel Treasurer and Officer of the Board; Charles Bevilacqua, Member of the Board; Elizabeth Berry, President; and members Kevin Keeling and Nancy Seaberg.

Moving Garland Deeper into the Green Zone

 Elizabeth Berry, president of Loving Garland Green, presented each of the City Council members and the Mayor with a basket of products made from plant-based materials along with a document containing preliminary thoughts for creating a Green Makerspace right here in Garland.  The Garland Green Makerspace is envisioned as a cooperative focused on creating products that will support the growth of urban agriculture in our local community.  Makerspaces are vortexes of energy--places for people to come together and brainstorm ideas for new commercial innovations, while sharing resources and tools to improve their own economic status and that of their local community.  A recent USDA report stated that plant-based manufacturing contributed $369 billion to the nation's economy in 2013 and created four million jobs.  As a result of these findings, in June of 2015, the USDA said it is expanding a program to develop use of plant-based materials.

Contents of the natural product package given to members of the Garland City Council, Mayor and City Manager:  a pinecone bird feeder; loofah sponges made from loofahs grown at the Garland Community Garden; Two Seed Packets from plants grown at the Garland Community Garden (loofah and milkweed).

OCTOBER IS OFFICIALLY MONARCH MONTH IN GARLAND TEXAS

Mayor Athas also issued a formal proclamation of October as Monarch Month.  Indeed it is!  We have many residents all over Garland who are rescuing and then releasing Monarchs.  Members of Loving Garland Green have rescued and released two Monarchs and two Mexican Fritillaries thus far this fall.  In addition, Jane Stroud has rescued 9 Monarch caterpillars and one egg over the past week.  This morning Charlie and I delivered three Monarch condos destined for the three kindergarten class rooms at Walnut Glen Academy here in Garland.  As evidence of the growing interest in urban agriculture here in Garland, Ms. Dickinson said there school would like to install a vegetable garden in the spring.  Of course, Loving Garland Green will be happy to assist them.

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Charlie Bevilacqua (Loving Garland Green Board member) and Shyla Dickinson (kindergarten teacher at Walnut Glen Academy for Excellence here in Garland) pose with the three Monarch condos that Loving Garland Green delivered to the classrooms this morning (October 21, 2015).