Blake Street Pocket Park is a lush, hidden gem nestled in the Beaver Hills neighborhood. Once an abandoned space, this serene park has been lovingly transformed into a thriving community haven thanks to the dedication of local residents. As visitors enter, they are greeted by vibrant murals, a flourishing herb garden, and a well-maintained food pantry. This year, our efforts focused on stewarding the park with great care. We tackled the overgrowth by removing invasive weeds, rejuvenating the soil with fresh mulch, pruning the encroaching trees and vines along the walls, and revitalizing the stone dust path, clearing it of stubborn weeds. Patrice, her family, and Susan have poured their hearts into making the park shine as it does today, ensuring that Blake Street Pocket Park remains a beloved and welcoming space for the entire community.
Susan widening the stone dust path around the Roundabout garden!
08/03/2024
The morning was soft and bright, and I was excited to see Patrice, Malachai, and Susan. They were thrilled to hear that the annual bus tour would pass through Blake St Pocket Park, but were sad they would be busy during that time. Today, we started at the front of the park, where Patrice, Malachai, and I pulled and swept away weeds that had grown through the cracks in the cement, while Susan swept up broken pieces of glass. After cleaning the front, we moved to the back and the roundabout garden, where Susan and I had been working to distinguish the path last time. We were ecstatic to see the grass in the back had been mowed, and some of the weeds had been removed. While Susan and I cleared the grass from the path, Patrice collected the mowed weeds. By the end of our workday, the path in the back was sparkling. It has been such a delightful time caring for this pocket park with Susan, Patrice, and the other volunteers. Come by, visit, admire, and help care for this special park when you have the time!
MaintenanceSusan looking toward the Roundabout garden!
07/20/2024
It was a very cool morning as I arrived at Blake St Pocket Park. With the Antoine family out of town this week, I called Susan to check in, and she excitedly replied that she was on her way! As always, she arrived with a big smile, a warm greeting, and holding her trusty scufflehoe. She started working on the stone dust path, once again amazed at how quickly the tool worked. She continued all the way to the back, while I followed with a rake to gather the weeded parts. When we reached the Roundabout garden, Susan mentioned that the path continued through a patch of grass, so we set to work with the scufflehoes, enjoying a lovely conversation about our families. A new volunteer, Desirae, and her daughter, Rosy, joined us. They live next to the pocket park and were very excited to see us working on it. Desirae shared stories about the property before it became this park. By the end of the workday, the path leading to the Roundabout garden was much clearer! Join us next Saturday at 9 am to give our park some love!
MaintenanceSusan, Nia, and I at the end of the workday - in awe of how beautiful the park looked!
06/29/2024
A light drizzle started as I arrived, but when I asked Nia how she felt about it, she shrugged and said, "That's fine, a little rain won't hurt anyone." As I got into the back of the truck to pull out tools, I spotted Susan making her way over to the park with a big smile on her face, excited to see us and work on the park! Before starting to weed, I demonstrated how to use the scuffle hoe on the stone dust. When I raked away the weeds that were pulled up, everyone was astonished at how easy it was and how clean the path looked afterward. Nia continued to use the scuffle hoe on the path, while Susan began weeding the area, and I (Yvonne) started off-loading mulch into a wheelbarrow. Around this time, Chris McDaniel stopped by—I was ecstatic to meet him as I had heard a lot about him. He was recovering from eye surgery, so instead of weeding, Nia showed him how to use the scuffle hoe and he got right to work! Around this time, Nia's father, John, came by after Nia called for his help. He immediate got to work and offered to shovel mulch. Vicson, whom Susan and I met and invited while he was biking to work last week, joined us too! He also volunteers at nearby community gardens. Vicson mentioned he couldn't stay long because of work, but he immediately got to work shoveling mulch into the wheelbarrow for us. With the powerful and quick work of Vicson, John, and Nia, all the mulch I brought was off-loaded, and almost the entire front of the park was mulched! Susan was worried because she couldn't weed as fast as they were mulching, but she was already doing a phenomenal job. Vicson helped on the path for a bit before departing for work. While Chris started to bag up loads of weeds with Susan's help, John and Nia continued to scuffle hoe and rake away all the weeds—the path was looking so clear all the way to the back of the park! I carefully tackled the task of removing some poison ivy. Susan's husband, Henry, also stopped by to say hi! Chris left to get some rest, and John left for basketball practice. By the end of the workday, Susan, Nia, and I were astonished at how much we had accomplished—we didn't expect to get so much done! The park was glowing! Join Susan and Chris next week at 2 pm to beautify the park!
