Providence Outside
August 2003: Down on the City Farm
April 2003: The greening of the city
March 2003: The hidden river revealed
February 2003: Finding romance amid the gloom
Down on the City Farm
An old bathtub and a discarded porcelain toilet, filled with rich soil and overflowing with leafy green plants, personify the spirit of the feisty City Farm, on Providence's South Side. The fixtures are part of the farm's container garden, along with rubber boots, an aluminum trash can, and an old Christmas tree stand, home to fragrant mint, robust lettuce, and tiny purple flowers. Richard Pederson, a Vista volunteer who manages the farm, collected all the cast-off items. "Part of our mission here is to model urban growing techniques," he said. "People in the city might not have much room for planting, or the soil might be toxic from lead paint. So a container garden is one way to work around that."
For 23 years, City Farm has thrived by finding creative ways to work around all kinds of problems and make the best use of what's available. Set in a densely-settled urban neighborhood off Dudley Street, the lush three-quarter-acre garden was a barren, vacant lot when a group of former Brown students took it over and started to till the soil. The compact farm is now certified organic, and sells salad greens, vegetables, tomatoes, herbs, and flowers throughout the season at the farmers markets at Broad Street and Hope High. Whatever doesn't sell is donated to homeless shelters and food pantries.
On a sunny afternoon in June, visitors to the farm include a fifth-grade boy who lives nearby and a Providence College student who is working here for the summer. The farm depends on dozens of helpers to keep the farm green and growing. "I have a great pool of folks," Pederson says, as he shows off his forest of tomatoes and tiny plots filled with chard, beans, and medicinal herbs. "Students from the local schools and colleges, people from the neighborhood, a father and his three-year-old daughter, community activists, gardeners, retirees." Pederson uses bio-intensive cultivation methods, to maximize production in minimal space. The volunteer labor force is essential to get all the planting and weeding and harvesting done.
The tiny farm seems bigger than it is, as footpaths meander from shady groves to sun-drenched fields. In a children's garden, bamboo teepees for beans are protected by a T-shirt on a stick -- a simulated scarecrow. Nearby, a greenhouse provides space for seedlings and experimental hothouse tomatoes. A supply of bees for pollination lives in a white wooden beehive tucked in a corner. Benches for weary farmers are set beneath spreading green fruit trees, and in every direction colors, flowers, and sweet smells fill the air. Every inch of the farm reflects the decades of care and foresight that have gone into its creation.
Adjacent to City Farm proper, a community lot provides space for about 40 growers from the neighborhood. Among them are Khamta Oradom, and his wife, Chen, who immigrated here from Laos in the early 1980s. Chen rests in the shade as Khamta patrols his tiny field, pulling weeds, tucking stems into trellises, caring for each plant. "Before, I had nothing," Khamta said. "To buy at the market is too expensive." Now, Khamta and Chen grow a healthy crop of corn, pumpkins, beans, cucumbers, onions, garlic, and more. They provide for their own needs, and sell the surplus at the farmers market.
Over the years, thousands of people have benefited from City Farm's programs. Schoolchildren visit for field trips. Gardeners trade their volunteer effort for a priceless education. Neighbors plant a folding chair beneath a shady tree, to while away a summer afternoon. Hundreds of families on the South Side cultivate their own fresh vegetables, in 11 community plots scattered throughout the neighborhood. And from nothing more than dirt and seeds and care, a tiny idea takes root and grows.
For more information about City Farm, a project of the Southside Community Land Trust, call 273-9419.
Click here for pictures.
The greening of the city
Every year as the wintry cold eases and the sun lingers a few moments later each day, spring emerges with excruciating slowness. We wait for the first forsythia and the crocuses, then wait some more for the daffodils. But it never feels like spring has truly arrived and we can hope for summer until finally, finally, the leaves appear on the trees.
"Whether you're rich or poor, your neighborhood should have trees," says Jennifer Cole Steele, director of the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program (PNPP). "They're not just beautiful, they're useful."
Steele, an energetic advocate who refers to herself as "The Tree Lady," can zip through a long list of the benefits of trees on city streets. They improve property values, provide summer shade, prevent runoff. Trees create a whole different look for a neighborhood, a look with intrinsic appeal. Picture a street lined with cars, sidewalks, and buildings. Now add tall trees, leafy and calm. "People want to live in places that are safe and clean and green," says Steele. "Then all the other things fall into place."
PNPP plants about 400 to 500 fresh young trees on city streets every year. Groups of five to twenty neighbors must complete an application and agree to water the trees, add mulch when needed, and monitor their health. The city delivers the trees and helps with the planting for free. Reliable care in the first couple of years is critical, says Steele, because the transplanted trees need to develop a strong root structure to thrive. Planting days are held on several weekends in late April and May, with a second round in September and October.
"Tree-planting days are like magic," says Steele. "People get so excited. The tree truck is like the ice-cream truck coming into the neighborhood." Residents help with the digging, the planting, the watering. They gather shovels and buckets, muffins and doughnuts, coffee and juice. The lanky trees, each one about seven to twelve feet tall, arrive balled and burlaped on a city flatbed truck. "People cook hot dogs and roast chickens," Steele says. "They love it."
PNPP has cobbled together support from the city and private sources, a unique arrangement that's been working well since 1989. Over the years, they have planted 5,000 trees, and worked with more than 400 neighborhood groups. About half those groups are on the East Side, but others are in South Providence, Fox Point, Mount Pleasant, Olneyville. Every city neighborhood has a least a few trees from PNPP. "The North End needs more," says Steele. "It feels like you're above the treeline there."
Five hundred trees a year is better than none, but it's not nearly enough, says Steele. That barely keeps up with the numbers that are cut down every year, and it's only about half the number that people request. There's just not enough money to say yes to everyone. "It's a struggle to get funding," says Steele. Trees may be widely appreciated, but they are not always a priority.
While PNPP promotes street trees, City Forester John Campanini works to add greenery in other ways. By pushing for more trees in capital improvement projects and new developments, the city has lately been adding another 400 or so trees per year to the urban forest. "The critical thing for increasing the canopy cover is that people realize it makes economic sense," says Campanini. The tremendous response to PNPP's program created a domino effect, he says, and opened the eyes of city officials to the benefits of trees. The city has about 26,000 trees now, Campanini says, but needs about twice as many to maximize the benefits a healthy canopy can provide in stormwater management and energy conservation.
For Steele, being Providence's Tree Lady is "the best job in the world." She can wander into any part of the city and see trees that she helped put there. "You get to bring joy and quality of life to people's neighborhoods," she says. "It sure is nice at the end of the day -- you've planted 500 trees, and every one of those trees is going to be loved by somebody."
For more info about street trees, contact PNPP at 368-5380 or go to www.pnpp.org.
The hidden river revealed
The rediscovered rivers of the city run through the Providence Renaissance, reflecting the warm glow of Waterfire and flowing with civic pride. Yet follow the Woonasquatucket River upstream, beyond Waterplace Park, beneath the mall and Route 95, up Promenade Street, and it penetrates into the long-neglected, poor, industrial West Side. Can it carry with it some of that Renaissance energy? Jane Sherman hopes so.
Sherman directs the Woonasquatucket River Greenway Project, an ambitious effort to mine the river's assets as a catalyst for growth and development in West Side neighborhoods. For years, she says, the river was "abused and discarded, hidden and trashed." Weeds and overgrowth covered the banks, tons of tires clogged the currents, hundreds of shopping carts cluttered its flow. "It wasn't considered an asset," she says. But now, after ten years of work, Sherman sees a new vision taking shape, in bits and pieces, across the landscape. Bike paths, parks and playgrounds form green public spaces that celebrate the river while building safe, healthy neighborhoods.
Donigian Park stretches along the riverbank on Valley Street, near Atwells Avenue, in the heart of Olneyville. "People have told me they weren't allowed to play here as kids, because of all the crime," Sherman said, on a recent tour of the site. "Look at it now!" The spacious park is well-tended and tidy. The tree-lined riverbanks, the sound of rushing water pouring down the Rising Sun dam, a freshly paved basketball court, and a trail across a wide expanse of neatly trimmed grass create an aura of peace and tranquillity in the midst of a busy urban district. "We show outdoor movies here in the summer," Sherman says, "and on weekends it's busy to overflowing." One hundred species of birds have been sighted here, she says.
Some might think of parks and bike paths as urban frills, but Sherman and her fellow advocates see the Greenway as an essential infrastructure project. Parks enhance quality of life in areas that residents otherwise might find bleak and unattractive. Green public spaces build community pride, encourage stability, and attract businesses. So far, 52 acres along the Woonasquatucket have been renovated.
At the site of the burned-out Riverside Mill, bulldozers work to transform another eight acres of wasteland into parkland. Nearby, the Eagle Square shopping center is taking shape, and plans are underway to convert the Rising Sun mill complex into office and living space. Several affordable-housing developments are in the works. "People haven't seen this kind of investment here in 100 years," says Roberta Groch, a city planner who, along with countless others, has labored alongside Sherman in the endless grunt work that goes into any civic effort. "It's exciting."
One key to the Greenway project's success, says Groch, is children. Even in the absence of parks, they explore the river, build forts in the woods, wear paths along its banks. When she started to develop playground plans, she went to the experts for input: the neighborhood kids. The river is not an abstraction to them: "Some part of it has touched their lives." They intuitively grasp the idea of stewardship, says Groch. The evidence is clear on several walls in Olneyville, where murals painted by local kids show turtles and trees and happy children at play by the riverside. "No graffiti there," Groch notes. The stewardship concept at work.
On a recent sunny winter morning, four mallards serenely ride the current behind the Rising Sun dam. Spotted turtles and great blue heron have been seen along the banks. Bluegill and yellow perch swim in the river's depths. A marked bike path follows the city roads from Donigian Park for almost a mile and a half, all the way back to Waterplace. The bike path eventually will extend along an abandoned railroad bed, and may continue upstream as far as North Smithfield. Freshwater wetlands are to be restored, providing habitat for fish and wildlife, and helping to keep the waters clean.
None of this has been easy. Plenty of disappointments and setbacks marked the way, says Sherman. Progress depends on the cooperation of the private and public sector, volunteers and city workers, nonprofit groups and neighborhood leaders, adults and children. The results are never certain, but the possibilities are unlimited. The once-hidden waters of the Woonasquatucket may one day reveal a brighter future for the city's West End.
For more information about the Greenway Project, contact the Woonasquatucket Watershed Council, 532 Kinsley Avenue, Providence, 861-9046.
Finding romance amid the gloom
Even the most cheerful soul, by February, is likely to suffer from the deep doldrums of winter in Providence ... the gray afternoons that wither into darkness by dinnertime, the raw damp winds, the sleet and ice and potholes, the salt-encrusted boots, the scarves and gloves and overcoats piled by the door. But all true romantics know that wretchedness is the flip side of joy, and when the sun appears for a brief February moment, setting the world aglow and turning the sky an unfamiliar blue, it outshines any bright summer day.
What could be better, then, for fanning the cold flames of romance, than to get outdoors under that wintry sky. By February, the movies and restaurants, the malls and video stores have lost their novelty, and beach days are a distant dream. But the streets of the city offer opportunities for outdoor adventures. If escape to Florida is not an option, the next-best cure for the winter blues is to bundle up and get right out there into the weather.
Winter is a wonderful time to visit the zoo at Roger Williams Park. No lines, no crowds, it's quiet and mystical, relaxing and intimate. The zoo is open all year round, and polar bears, snow leopards, and many of the animals thrive in winter weather. You haven't seen pink Chilean flamingoes till you've seen them in the snow, and the deep-chocolate moon bears, most often spotted in summer as inert lumps of fur, are up and about and showing off their shaggy coats in the cold air. All the animals seem more relaxed and curious, gazing right out at you, their novel visitor. The polar bears especially take an interest in winter wanderers. It's a bit unsettling to see that probing look directed at you personally, when you know the restless bear is wondering how you would taste with a nice Chianti.
For a brief hint of summer, visit the Tropical America exhibit. Part of it is under renovation, so there is not a lot to see, but the blast of heat and humidity is gratifying. Free-flying birds squawk in the rafters, and a colony of cotton-top tamarins plays an infinite game of musical chairs. When the giraffes and elephants are indoors, you are welcome to visit for a closer-up view than you get in the summer. And when you've had enough of the chill, the A to Zebra gift shop is open, warm and inviting, and serving hot chocolate and coffee.
For a unique Valentine's Day experience, visit the zoo on February 16, when you can attend an adults-only lecture about animal mating rituals. The talk is followed by a special reception, complete with chocolate and other delectable treats, for you and your object of desire. The lecture is free with zoo admission.
Once night falls, romance can be found under the stars. Winter is an excellent time of year for stargazing. Cold air tends to be dry and stable, all the better for peering deep into the cosmos. The best place in Providence to visit the universe is the Ladd Observatory, which is open to the public every Tuesday night when the sky is clear, from about 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. The historic building, at the corner of Hope Street and Doyle Avenue, exudes an antique charm, and is itself worth a visit. It has belonged to Brown University since 1891. H.P. Lovecraft in his youth enjoyed visiting there. He wrote that he would walk up Doyle pushing his bicycle up the hill, but on his way home, "I would have a glorious coast down it."
The public nights are free to all comers and very informal. Simply let yourself in the front door, sign the guest book, and climb the stairs to the telescope dome. (Renovations a few years ago added an elevator for accessibility.) The antique telescope, about 15 feet long with a 12-inch-diameter lens, sits on a huge pivot, and the dome, with a small opening for the telescope to peer through, revolves on a track. By cranking the telescope and the dome around by hand with a complex system of pulleys and gears, astronomer Bob Horton can zoom in on any point in the night sky.
One cold night last month, Horton showed a handful of visitors the heart of the Orion nebula, the rings of Saturn, and the craters of the crescent moon. Saturn gleamed with crystal clarity, its rings sublimely oblique, a sight almost alarming in the intensity of its loveliness, enfolded by the utter emptiness of space. It's chilly under the open dome, so dress warm. If the clouds roll in, or you crave some warmth, take a visit downstairs. Sit for a while beneath the dome of a small portable planetarium, where the stars are replicated in miniature, or check out the small gallery of backlit astronomical photographs, and prove to your starry-eyed sweetie that you can travel the cosmos together.
For more information about wintertime events at the zoo, call 785-3510. For more information about the Ladd Observatory, call 521-5680.
send email read my resume back to envrionment home page home
Thanks for visiting. Last updated July 2003.
All text and graphics Copyright 2000-2003 Mary Grady.