NEW MEXICO'S CENTENNIAL GARDEN CELEBRATION
Albuquerque, N.M. —The Nob Hill Main Street and the New Mexico Centennial Foundation will host a joint news conference and community event, Thursday, Sept. 6, 10 a.m. The organizers will welcome and tour people through the Nob Hill Community Centennial Garden.
The event is an opportunity to recognize the commitment of individuals, neighborhood organizations, youth groups, city leaders and businesses who have been involved in making the garden a reality through their hard work and dedication to the project. The garden, which will produce everything from fruits and vegetables to perennial flowers, will foster connections across the Nob Hill community and provide learning opportunities for area students and gardeners. The garden’s construction features recycled materials, and a portion of its produce will be donated to an Albuquerque charity that supports needy families. They have planted a dozen fruit trees including apple, plum, peach, cherry and pear and there are four raised vegetable and herb beds with different varieties of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, melon, basil, fennel and sage.
“The Nob Hill Garden, like the other 10 gardens selected as part of the New Mexico Centennial Garden Project, is what New Mexico Centennial is all about,” says Ona Johnson, Director of New Mexico Centennial. “Proud New Mexicans from across our great state have worked together to create beautiful gardens that will provide a culture of sustainability to New Mexicans well beyond this Centennial year. Community gardens, like the Nob Hill Community Centennial Garden, are contributing greatly to the growth and enrichment of New Mexico. ”
The New Mexico Centennial Foundation announced its Centennial Garden Program awardees on April 11, 2012. The Foundation received 113 applications from around the state. The Garden Review Panel selected eight awardees with two alternates. The New Mexico Centennial Garden Projects are: Nob Hill Main Street, Albuquerque; Rio Puerco Alliance for Hasbidito, Navajo Nation; Eagle Nest Elementary/Middle School and Village of Eagle Nest; Mesilla Valley Youth Foundation, Las Cruces; Ruben Torres Elementary School, Deming; Memorial Middle School, Las Vegas; Desert Academy, Santa Fe; Madrid Cultural Projects, Madrid and the alternates are Southwest Conservation Corps, Acoma; Pueblo and Chaparral Middle School, Alamogordo. The Mesilla Valley Youth Foundation will also be hosting a community and press event in September. The date will be announced later this week.
“This has been such a labor of love,” says Robert Munro, owner of O'Niell's Irish Pub in Nob Hill and one of the leaders of the project. “The Nob Hill Centennial Garden is a creative partnership between many Albuquerque businesses and nonprofits. Its purpose is to create a beautiful and bountiful garden, produce local food for the community, and provide meaningful experiences for teenagers including the Media Arts Collaborative Charter School.”
Grants from the Coca Cola Foundation and US Bank enabled the NM Centennial Foundation to support school and community garden projects throughout New Mexico. Each New Mexico Centennial garden is unique and will help create a more sustainable New Mexico.
Businesses, organizations, and city leaders that have also committed goods or services, for the Nob Hill garden, include TLC Plumbing, Build New Mexico, Gardener’s Guild, Jericho Nursery, Plant World, Sisco Sprinklers, Sphere, Strell Design, The Hilltop, Aspen Leaf Landscaping and City Councilor Rey Garduno. Students from the nearby Media Arts Collaborative Charter School will be documenting the project on film.
WHAT: NOB HILL COMMUNITY CENTENNIAL GARDEN CELEBRATION
WHERE: Nob Hill Community Centennial Garden, 3919 Silver SE, Albuquerque, NM
WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 6, 10 a.m.
About New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
The Department of Cultural Affairs is New Mexico’s cultural steward – charged with preserving and showcasing the state’s cultural riches. With its eight museums, eight historic monuments, arts, archaeology, historic preservation and library programs, the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs is the largest state cultural agency in the nation. Together, the facilities, programs and services of the department support a $3.3 billion cultural industry in New Mexico.
About Nob Hill Main Street
Nob Hill Main Street is a grassroots collaboration dedicated to revitalizing the Nob Hill neighborhood. They have created a new model of public/private partnership in this pilot project. Land owner Rob Strell, the City of Albuquerque and Nob Hill Main Street worked together to make this working garden a reality.
www.nmcentennial.org
www.newmexicoculture.org
http://rt66central.com/CommunityGardenPocketPark.html
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jennifer@jmarshallplan.com
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