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2014 Spring | Education & Outreach, Natural Science & Restoration

Greenwood P-Patch Renovation

Student(s):

Thomas Jenkins

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Betsy Russell

Partner(s):

  • P-patch Community Garden Program

Faculty advisor(s):

Eli Wheat, Program on the Environment, University of Washington

During my internship, I assisted the Greenwood P-Patch Steering Committee with planning and initiating the renovation of a 17-year-old community garden. I was interested in learning more about the history of community gardens in Seattle, and why this one in particular required so much maintenance despite having several gardeners who had been active since it was originally built. This project exposed me to questions about how much the neighborhood had changed during the past 2 decades, what the local demographics said about the community, and how to work with neighborhood residents to build social networks focused on common spaces.