THE WASHINGTON POST • THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2010


16 DC


District


L OCAL LIVING community news in brief City opens recreation center


The District held a grand opening for one recreation center and a groundbreaking for another as it continues improving its recreation centers.


Deanwood Recreation Center and Library, 1350 49th St. NE, is a $32 million, 63,000-square-foot facility that includes a swimming pool, a full-service kitchen, a game room, a senior services area, a music studio, a fitness center and multi-purpose rooms. It has a 7,500-square-foot library with 20 computers and capacity for 25,000 books. The grand opening was Friday. The new Fort Stanton center, 1812 Erie St. SE, is a $12.5 million project that will replace a 2,500-square-foot center with an 18,000-square-foot community center, which will include a new gym. Other work includes renovating the existing pool house, installing a pedestrian connection to upper fields and adding parking. The Parks and Recreation Department expects the recreation center to be completed in November 2011. For information, go to dpr.dc.gov.


Interns on bikes water trees


For the second summer, members of Casey Trees are watering trees by bicycle. The Water By-Cycle program allows the organization’s high school interns to mulch and water trees on street bikes. The bikes have a custom, six-foot cargo trailer to carry hoses and safety cones.


City fire hydrants provide the


water, paid for by the organization with the permission of D.C. Water. The program hydrates trees the group has planted in Bloomingdale, Columbia Heights, Dupont Circle, Eckington Park, downtown, Embassy Row, Georgetown and Mount Pleasant — neighborhoods with limited street parking. A truck crew cares for trees planted in other neighborhoods. The organization said that trees


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Arboretum gardening program blossoms By growing food, families cultivate healthy habits and togetherness


by Tamika L. Gittens


Xavier Williams, 5, carefully dropped two tiny collard seeds into a hole in a plot at the Washington Youth Garden and gently covered them with soil. Over the next few weeks, he’ll come back to watch them sprout and flourish.


When the greens are fully grown, he and his mother might even get to take them home and enjoy them for dinner with the family. Xavier, who is not a fan of


vegetables but already has pronounced gardening “fun,” is among 17 youngsters who are spending Saturday mornings this summer in the “Growing Food . . . Growing Together” program at the U.S. National Arboretum in Northeast Washington. Most started without any gardening experience, but they leave each week with a greater knowledge of growing herbs and vegetables, tips on preparing meals and armloads of fresh produce. “It really is about trying to


cultivate a new crop of gardeners,” said Kaifa Anderson-Hall, program director. The families said they are learning to adopt healthy habits and enjoying spending time together. The 446-acre arboretum, perhaps best known among Washingtonians for its springtime azalea walks, offers a haven from the daily grind. It’s a place to meet new friends, enjoy the quiet and, sometimes, get dirty.


Established in 1971, the


Washington Youth Garden was organized by the Friends of the National Arboretum to provide hands-on science and food education to children and their families. Anderson-Hall, who was once a participant and later a volunteer, said it started as a summer program for children


PHOTOS COURTESY OF WASHINGTON YOUTH GARDEN


Tending the Washington Youth Garden are, above, Lloyd, 14, Xavier, 5, and Lavonda Williams and, left, Zora, 4, and Allison Brown-Andrews.


“It really is about trying to cultivate a new crop of


gardeners.” — Kaifa Anderson-Hall, program director


who tended to individual plots. Over the years, it blossomed into a communal garden tended by children and families.


One recent Saturday morning, sorrel, broccoli, pole beans, tomatoes and watermelon were flourishing in the one-acre youth


garden. Garden coordinator Chris Turse coached the families as they planted purple and blue turnips, cherry bell radishes and collards.


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