Green Acres Real Estate Update - 5.31.09

Click here to see the listing of homes for sale in Green Acres.

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GANG - Workshop #3

The Lasagna Style No Dig Instant Garden - how great is that!

We planted, and planted, and planted some more. Vegetables, herbs, edible flowers annd ornamental plants. First though, we made the beds which consisted of stacks of materials that will break down and feed the plants on top - cardboard, newspapers, sticks and twigs (great sources of water as they break down), grass clippings, and hay all make great bed layers.

If you have plants to donate - food plants, water plants, or decorative plants, please email greenacresneighborhood@gmail.com to make arrangements for your donations!

Check out Ann's blog for greater detail and more pictures from Workshop #3.

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5th Annual Plant Share

More photos and event details in the full post.





Event Details
Jelene Campbell will be hosting the fifth annual Green Acres
Neighborhood plant share in her front yard (2521 Eastgate Lane) on
Saturday, May 16, from 9-11 am. This is a FREE event! In case of rain, plants will be in the garage behind her house.

Need plants? Here's a great way to get day lilies, tomatoes, peppers
and many more for your garden. You don't have to bring anything in
trade (we all have to start somewhere!), and free informational
brochures about gardening will be provided.

Do you have extra seedlings, plant divisions, houseplants, garden
tools, gloves, trays, or other useful garden items to share? Just
bring them to Jelene's between 8 and 9 am on the morning of the plant share. If you need a pickup, contact Jelene (jjcampbe@indiana.edu) a few days before the event. Be sure to put any plants you bring in pots or in bags with the roots wrapped in wet paper towels. Also provide the name of the plant and, if possible, planting and care instructions (e.g. sun/shade, size, color, annual/perennial, season of bloom).

Whether you donate, take, or both, mark your calendar for May 16 and join your neighbors for some gardening fun.

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Mini Neighborhood Cleanup

Last year, we held a huge neighborhood cleanup where the City provided a chipper, hazardous waste truck, dumpster and staff. The City says it won't provide the equipment and personnel two years running, so this year we're going with Plan B: a one-hour mini-cleanup.

Details in the full post.

Schedule
Saturday, May 16
11:00 am - Meet at 2521 Eastgate Lane at the conclusion of the Plant Share. Claim a street or two (we'll provide a map), pick up a blue HAND bag (or two), and fill it up with litter from "your" streets.
12:00 pm - Join us at Green Acres Neighborhood Garden (GANG), NE corner of Overhill and DeKist, for a group photo and refreshments. Bring a full bag,take home a yummy vegan scone.
Afterward- Bring the HAND bag home and put it out with your regular trash later in the week for a free pickup.

Things to Bring:
Garden or work gloves, maybe a whisk broom and a small dust-pan.

Hope to see you there!

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May GANA potluck and meeting

Date: Tuesday, May 12th
Time: Potluck begins at 6:30pm with meeting to follow
Location: 2621 E. Edwards Row

Topics: update on the GANG, upcoming plant share and neighborhood clean-up, follow up on April meeting items, and anything else neighbors want to discuss

Neighbors in attendance: Jelene Campbell, Valerie Cox, John & Jessica Gaus, Yusuf Nur, Kevin Polk, Al & Kathy Ruesink, Georgia Schaich, Jane Spearman, and Kimberly Wagner

We had some new neighbors at the potluck, so we shared introductions and learned some new things about each other. Georgia brought a few Green Acres shirts for neighbors who did not have one yet - thanks Georgia!

April follow up
* Al spoke with his contact at IU regarding usage of the Raintree house for GANA gatherings. Raintree house has no bathrooms and there are fire ordinance issues that prevent IU from allowing these types of gatherings at Raintree. Al's contact is looking into the theater annex as a possibility.
* Jane contacted City Planning about DIY GANA signs for yards. No response yet, but this was to be expected since initial contact email sent two days ago.

Projects
* GANG - the second workshop is now complete. Neighbors and friends gathered April 25and 26 to complete the water features at the GANG. Pictures and descriptions are available on the GANA blog and Ann's blog.
Jane passed around a GANG wishlist. Neighbors are encouraged to get involved by donating items, time, design ideas, etc. Contact us if you want to have something to share for the GANG.
Kevin presented the volunteer log book that he created and talked about having a set day once a week that people could gather to socialize and work on the garden. Neighbors agreed that this is a good idea and decided that Wednesdays from 5:30pm - 6:30pm would be Volunteer Day at the GANG. Volunteering is not limited to this hour, so please volunteer whenever you want/can. For folks wanting shares of the GANG harvest, specific volunteer hours must be logged (details still being decided). The volunteer log book will be on Ann's porch, so check the book for an updated wishlist and to log your time in the garden.
* Green Acres table at Blooming Neighborhoods Celebration - Green Acres will again be hosting a table at this event, held this year on June 6th. Georgia and Jane have volunteered to work on the table and anyone else who is interested in working on this project please let us know - help us showcase Green Acres and the wonderful neighbors we have!
* Yard Sale - Natalia (not in attendance) sent an email to the GANA listserv about hosting a GANA yard sale. The response has been minimal and so Natalia is thinking about just donating her items rather than having a yard sale. If you are interested in working on a GANA yard sale, let Natalia know ASAP.
* Fundraiser for GANA - Jelene brought up using a FlowerPower order to raise some funds for Green Acres and neighbors discussed this idea. Usually FlowerPower prices are set so that they get 50% and the neighborhood gets 50%. In order for neighbors to support GANA and still get flowers at a good price, we agreed to offer the bulbs at 60% of the set price, so that the neighborhood would get 10% of anything sold. Jelene will have the order form at the PlantShare. If you can't attend the PlantShare, but want to order bulbs (and support GANA!!!!), contact Jelene.

Upcoming Events
* PlantShare - Jelene reminded everyone that the PlantShare is Saturday, May 16th. Jelene passed around fliers to share with other folks that might be interested in participating.
* Mini cleanup - Kevin reminded everyone about the neighborhood cleanup that will take place following the PlantShare. Kevin will bring maps for teams to select routes. Kevin and Kimberly will have scones for neighbors to exchange for each bag of trash collected. Group photo of trash collected and the trash collectors will take place too, so wear your Green Acres shirts.
* IU Bike Auction - Jane shared fliers about the bike auction that is happening May 16th. Group discussed successes and not-so-successes that they have had with the bike auction.
* B-Line Trail discussion - the City is hosting a coffee discussion about the B-Line Trail (funding, stimulus impact, grand opening, etc), May 14th at Village Deli, 7:30-8:30am.
* David Gohn Band - Jelene's band will perform at Peoples Park on Tuesday, June 2nd from 11:30am - 1:00pm. This performance is sponsored by the City of Bloomington Parks & Rec Department and is part of the ongoing Peoples Park Tuesday Lunch Concert Series.
* Blooming Neighborhoods - this two day event is coming up soon. June 5th is Jim Diers' talk and June 6th is the Neighborhood Awards and Celebration (details of both here). Because GANA signed up to host a table at the Celebration, we won a copy of Mr. Diers' book. Jane is almost finished with the book and will pass it on to Valerie. If you are interested in reading this book, please let us know.

Observations and Concerns
* Georgia noticed an item in the Herald Times Hotline column about For Rent signs and how long they are posted. It seems that some property owners keep these signs in their yards year round, regardless of the current rental status. Georgia thought this might be a good issue for CONA to pursue.
* There is a dilapidated house on 8th street that seems to be violating all kinds of ordinances is becoming quite an eyesore. It was recommended that HAND be contacted to come look at the property and to issue violation notices as appropriate.
* Many neighbors are concerned about the traffic that will be coming through the neighborhood during and after the 45/46 Bypass widening project. Neighbors discussed the history of traffic calming in Green Acres and agreed that we should start talking with City Planning to revisit traffic calming in light of the Bypass.

Next Potluck and Meeting
* Vickie Provine (HAND) and Nate Nickels (City Planning) will be joining us at the June gathering to discuss next steps in fulfilling our neighborhood plan. Jane passed out copies of the plan so neighbors could look it over and come prepared for June. If you were not at the meeting, but want a copy of plan, let us know.
* June's gathering will be Tuesday, June 9 at Ann's (134 N Overhill); potluck begins at 6:30 with meeting to follow.

Respectfully submitted by me!

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Green Acres Real Estate Update - 5.10.09

Click this link to view the current listing of homes for sale in Green Acres.

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