Ishihara Park Learning Garden Offers Urban Community Greenspace with Support from GRO1000 Program
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – The City of Santa Monica received a grant to fund the final stages of revitalization to Ishihara Park, which opened at the end of February. Ishihara is a community greenspace designed to connect area residents to nature in an urban setting. The former parking lot is now a welcoming public greenscape with native plantings, an urban orchard, a learning garden, and passive green areas for residents to gather, exercise and experience nature. The learning garden at the park is supported by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation and The U.S. Conference of Mayors’ national GRO1000 gardens and greenspaces program.
The GRO1000 Santa Monica event kicks off at 11 a.m. on April 24 at Ishihara Park, 2909 Exposition Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90404. Youth and local leaders will join volunteers, including ScottsMiracle-Gro associates and GRO1000 national and local partners, in garden-related educational activities. In addition, a youth from Santa Monica will be presented with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation’s Give Back To Gro Youth Gardener Award.
“Santa Monicans love our community gardens and programs that provide urban gardening exposure and education,” said Mayor Ted Winterer. “We appreciate the recognition as a GRO1000 garden and look forward to watching how the Ishihara Park Learning Garden quickly becomes a treasured community gathering space in our Pico neighborhood.”
GRO1000 is The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation’s commitment to support the creation of more than 1,000 community gardens and greenspaces throughout the U.S. by 2018, in conjunction with The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company’s 150th anniversary. To date, more than 900 community-based projects have received GRO1000 funding.
“We’re honored to work with the City of Santa Monica on this transformational project,” said Su Lok, Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation Vice President. “Our hope is that the lives of Santa Monica residents would be greatly improved through the creation of this community greenspace and all of the benefits that it provides. “
GRO1000 Santa Monica was made possible through the combined efforts of local partners, including the City of Santa Monica, and national partners including The U.S. Conference of Mayors, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation, Plant A Row for the Hungry, KidsGardening.org, the Garden Writers Association Foundation, and Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. The Santa Monica GRO1000 event is one of several public installation events being held in the U.S. in 2017.
About The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission is to inspire, connect and cultivate communities of purpose in the areas of environmental improvement, youth empowerment, and community gardens and greenspaces. The Foundation carries out its mission by funding qualifying charitable entities that support its core initiatives in the form of grants, endowments, and multi-year capital gifts. The Foundation is deeply rooted in preserving our planet, empowering the next generation, and helping create healthier communities. For more information, visit www.scottsmiraclegrofoundation.org
About The U.S. Conference of Mayors
The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,210 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Find us at usmayors.org, onfacebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter attwitter.com/usmayors.