Broadway in Lemon Grove is a downtown thoroughfare with more concrete and trolley tracks than green space.
But volunteers set to work last weekend to help change that, with a planting day at Promenade Park near the trolley line.
Why it matters
Community members uprooted weeds and brought in new plants that will hopefully grow and welcome bees and other pollinators.
This project was hosted by Revitalize Broadway Lemon Grove. The group’s mission is to spruce up the area and encourage community engagement through trash cleanups and other activities.
Volunteers focused Saturday’s efforts on an empty spot nestled between the trolley tracks and apartments.
Who made it happen
Support came from several local organizations including the Helix Water District's Helix Helps group, Busy Bee Garden Co-op, Lemon Grove Forward Club, The Neighborhood, Wild Ones San Diego and Caterpillar Chow.
Plants were provided by the Xerces Society.
This project fits into a broader community movement to prioritize education and beautification in the city. Community organizers' work this year earned Lemon Grove a new title — Clean California Community.
The state designation rewards communities for their cleanup efforts by providing more resources and priority access to grant funding.
Closer look
Volunteer and Lemon Grove planning commissioner Minola Clark Manson said it's important to be involved.
“I’m here because I’m a citizen here, and Lemon Grove is special," Clark Manson said. “Plants make people feel safer. Dirt and concrete does not.”
The community effort aims to help people better understand the plants and bugs that will grow in this green space.
The new plants like narrowleaf milkweed, sea cliff buckwheat and purple sage will hopefully attract more pollinators. Noah Malkin volunteered with his dad, Oliver Malkin.
“I came out here because it would probably help some creatures and maybe have some native plants around here," Noah said. "It’d be pretty cool to see them later on.”
Work will continue along Broadway, planting seeds for a greener local future.
