When I first visited the Phoenix Renews Garden at Steele Indian School Park, their temporary lot of over 100 garden plots was still fully in tact.
Phoenix Renews project manager, Mary Lu Nunley, was drinking coffee from her stainless silver thermos on a chilly yet clear Saturday morning. She leisurely strolled through the garden, surveying the dozens of raised beds planted with vegetables, flowers, and desert plants.
On this morning, Nunley was preparing for the final workshop to be hosted by Keep Phoenix Beautiful, a non-profit organization created to involve and eduate residents about recycling management and beautification practices. The workshop featured facts and techniques for proper plant pruning.
There was a gentle wind and due to the vast openness of the 15-acre lot at Steele Indian School Park, you could especially feel it on your skin. Workshop attendees wore jackets, winter hats, and a number of different patterned flannel shirts that of which a lumberjack would’ve been most proud of.
Aside from the sound of traffic and the arrival and departures of the light rail nearby, the garden was mostly silent. The silence was briefly interrupted by birds chirping, providing you with an invigorating and relaxing feel all at once.
Attendees found a seat at one of the many painted picnic tables as Nunley began the workshop. The reflection of the sun beamed off of her sunglasses. Her denim jacket was overpowered by a dark green shirt lying underneath. The words “Keep Phoenix Beautiful” were displayed in large letters.
Garden updates were given one-by-one by the attendees. Nunley paused for a moment. She cleared her throat.
“This is what it’s all about,” she said. “It’s about creating a stronger community and coming together to attract more growers.”
A middle-aged woman wearing a blue North Face jacket captured Nunley’s attention. She took a glance around.
Following a subtle hesitation, Nunley radiated with a look of approval. She surveyed the attendees, searching for their joint acceptance.
Time passed. Nunley finished providing her tips and techniques and carefully said:
“Let’s get to work.”
The growers then slowly made their way to their numbered plots. She walked around, offering encouragement and a helping hand. A distinct aroma took hold of your senses as you walked around the garden. Stories and past gardening experiences were being shared.
At once, a community had come together — providing a distraction from the current realities.
Now, a little over two months later, Phoenix Renews Garden is in the process of creating a new home.
On February 2, only a few days after I first visited the 15-acre lot at Steele Indian School Park, gardeners learned of the site’s closure through an e-mail sent out by Tom Waldeck, President and CEO of Keep Phoenix Beautiful.
A week later, gardeners were asked to begin clearing their plots and by February 15, the entire site was to be vacated.
An initiative that was first started by Phoenix mayor Greg Stanton to reduce the number of empty lots throughout the city by using them as community and educational spaces, the Phoenix Renews Garden was always a temporary lot.
At the time of its opening in November of 2012, it was one of the largest transformations of vacant land happening in the country. It was situated in the heart of Phoenix and along with its partnership with the non-profit, Keep Phoenix Beautiful, it also partnered up with Barron Collier Companies.
Along with over a hundred gardens, their former location boasted a pet-exercise area, art installations of local artists and much more.
Even in the midst of transitioning to their new site, Keep Phoenix Beautiful continues to host free, hands-on workshops focused on creating a beautiful, water efficient landscape for your home or business.
Their new location will be just south of the light rail line on West Pierson Street, about three miles from their former location. Crews have demolished two abandoned homes and cleared weeds and piles of junk on a neighborhood lot. Ample space is expected for individual growers at the new location while others may restart at places like Roosevelt Growhouse, which is moving within downtown after losing its original location.
At the new location, things are relatively still undeveloped and moving slowly. On a Friday afternoon, over two months since their previous site was vacated, volunteers from Alliance Residential Company — a Real Estate Developer in Phoenix — were helping to construct and put together garden plots.
The site is still mostly dirt and rocks and Keep Phoenix Beautiful are still awaiting the installation of a solar house — provided by the architecture program at Arizona State University. Once it is on site, the group can begin taking the next steps.
At a first glance, the new location is a much smaller space than the former site at Steele Indian School Park. Even though it doesn’t come close to matching 15-acres in total acreage, the actual garden space will match in square mileage space.
It seems ironic that volunteers have come together to begin beautifying Phoenix Renews’ new location, just one day prior to Earth Day.
With drill guns in hand, work gloves on and sun screen ready to be applied, it’s just a matter of time before hard work will break ground at a new home for Phoenix Renews and Keep Phoenix Beautiful.
For now, that time looks to be early to late June of this year.
If you are interested in becoming apart of the Phoenix Renews community, please visit their Facebook page here. For information on Keep Phoenix Beautiful or to check out when upcoming workshops will be given, visit keepphxbeautiful.org.
Also, be sure to check out recent coverage of Phoenix Renews’ move in local media. A few links are provided below.
