"Unity Park" Groundbreaking!

Many in the neighborhood arrived to begin the building of "Unity Park."  We had visits from a master drone pilot to assist in our documentation, a visit from the South Ward Councilman, and a surprise discovery that Laura's former Professor lives next door to us!

We cleared more brush and old fence plus began digging the water retention swales this Easter weekend. A swale is a low tract of land, especially one that is moist or marshy.  Artificial swales are infiltration basins designed to manage water runoff, filter pollutants, and increase rainwater infiltration. By building these early, we begin the long process of increasing the overall moisture content of the soil.

Our soil, like that of most abandoned urban lots, is pretty poor. Although we will be receiving the official soil test results back from the NC Dept of Agriculture, after a few hours of digging it was obvious that a major amount of attention needs to be spent on remediation of the soil health and nutrition.  Soils are their own ecosystems and to reach the sort of soil that our "Food Forest" needs, it will require a lot of human assistance! Next up is the incorporation of mulching materials, wood chips, sand and aeration to help rebuild the soil. 

If you can help in any way, please let us know. 

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