GCV President Jean Gilpin, Winchester-Clarke Garden Club; the Augusta Garden Club First Vice President Virginia Gillock; the Elizabeth River Garden Club President Betty Jo Gwaltney; and Common Wealth Award Committee Chairman Karla MacKimmie, Warrenton Garden Club.
The Common Wealth Award Winners Were Announced at the 2018 Board of Governors
First Place: Urban Garden Invites Youth to “Dream a Different Future” submitted by The Elizabeth River Garden Club
Paradise Creek in Portsmouth was once so polluted that the EPA named three “Superfund” or worst-of-the-worst sites in this area. One shore has been transformed into an urban oasis, Paradise Creek Nature Park, where at-risk youth, in particular, can discover hope. This plan for an outdoor classroom is the second phase of the landscaping around the new UVA designed River Academy building. Children will go from the Academy to the adjacent outdoor classroom where native flowers, shrubs, trees, a sensory garden, outdoor art, and more will enliven their learning experience. They can view a solar-powered building with cisterns to provide water for plants and with sustainable materials used throughout. Thousands of people visit this 40-acre park created by the non-profit Elizabeth River Project with help from the community. With a revitalized forest and a created wetland, this park teaches environmental stewardship of the Elizabeth River and Chesapeake Bay. But those who may benefit the most are the children from the nearby neighborhoods with inner-city challenges. “Just walking among the trees and seeing the herons takes these children out of their bleak daily lives. It gives them a chance to dream a different future,” said a teacher with Young Life.
Second Place: Project Dogwood- A Hundred Year Journey submitted by The Augusta Garden Club
Habitat for Humanity is initiating a whole neighborhood approach as it buys homes and lots in a five-block area of downtown Staunton. The Augusta Garden Club will donate dogwoods for yards and planned common spaces to beautify and build equity in this formerly blighted area. Habitat will oversee green spaces and provide tools and instruction to homeowners on successful care of the trees. Montgomery Hall Park, one of Virginia’s first African-American parks, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is experiencing renewed recognition and improvements. The Club will provide dogwoods, to be planted and maintained by the City of Staunton, to enhance the park’s manor house and nature trails. Since its 1919 founding, the Club has planted dogwoods along city streets, parks, and public spaces. In the last five years, we used grants and club funds to plant over 100 dogwood trees and develop a “teaching arboretum” focused on disease-resistant cultivars. As our centennial approaches, the Club hopes to expand community partnerships and bring this project to two diverse and historic areas. The Common Wealth Award will allow the Club to increase the presence of our state tree by planting over 40 dogwoods in these underserved areas of Staunton.
