Year: 2013

The Garden on Gearing is a small community garden in the neighborhood of Beltzhoover. The garden was designed and created by Gordon Hodnett with the help of local community groups and neighbors. It contains several raised garden beds, an in-the-ground garden bed, a trellis system from growing berries, a community bulletin-board, and fruit trees. The garden is, and continues to be developed as, a place of inter-generational education centered around food. Partnerships with a number of community-based organizations, like Voices…

Cheryl was apart of the original cohort of 13 Ambassadors participating in the 2013-2014 ReClaim South program. As a civic leader and pastor in a food desert community, Cheryl knew she wanted to make a difference by beginning her own community food garden. In partnership with the church where she pastors, Cheryl set out to implement a thriving food garden, complete with a dozen planting beds and a play area for local kids.

Linda Piso was one of the 13 original Ambassadors who participated in the 2013-2014 ReClaim South program. Linda, realizing that there were little to no fresh food options for residents living in her neighborhood, designed and implemented a community garden in partnership with her neighbor, the Carnegie Library.

Let's Talk!, located at Mountain Avenue and Fisher Street, transformed a large vacant lot into an engaging and creative gathering space. The space contains a chess table, two sets of cornhole and a Little Free Library.

This site, located at the intersection of St. Joseph Street and Ormsby Street, is one of three gateways that provides a beautiful welcome to those entering the Hilltop. The site is planted with perennial wildflowers. John plans to expand the plantings in future years down the hill.

The Little Free Library is a national movement, where communities plant covered boxes full of books where residents can “take a book, return a book”. Working with the other Ambassadors and considering public transit lines, David will install five different boxes on four Ambassador project sites and one on a Western Pennsylvania Conservancy garden. His vision is that bus commuters will be able to peruse the selection before taking their trip on the bus. It is also a great way…

Before Melanie implemented her project, the entrance to Emerald View Park in Mount Washington was unsightly and uninteresting. The site has been beautified with perennial plantings, signage and benches – creating a more welcoming entrance to a great Hilltop park.

Patti’s Point, located at the intersection of Mountain Avenue and Parkwood Road, is one of three gateways pointing to the Hilltop. Perennials were planted to reduce erosion and beautify the intersection.

Mitra and Chitra are a father and son duo that moved to the Mt. Oliver Borough in 2012 by way of Nepal and Bhutan. Because of the high population of Bhutanese refugees living in the Mt. Oliver area, they created a community space that pays homage to their homeland. In partnership with Grow Pittsburgh and the Mt. Oliver Borough, Chitra and Mitra Gurung built out a community space within the new Mt. Oliver Community Garden. The space has a place for…