Pittsburgh, Pa. – Sept., 29, 2017 – Two community gardens in Mercer County will keep blooming for the next several years, thanks to financial sponsorship from Thiel College.
The college’s sponsorship and partnership with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy was announced at a dedication ceremony held September 21 at the Wentling Memorial Garden in Greenville Borough. Representatives from the college, including students from the school’s environmental club, Greenville Borough, and the Conservancy attended the event.
For the next three years, Thiel College will support both the Wentling Memorial Park Garden, located at the intersection of Main Street and College Avenue, and the Veterans Park Garden at S. Front and W. Main streets, both in Greenville. Art DeMeo, the Conservancy’s director of community greenspace services, said these gardens have beautified the local community and welcomed visitors, residents and students into the borough since 2010.
“We appreciate Thiel College for its leadership and support for these gardens, and commitment to the local community,” said Art, who oversees the garden program for the Conservancy. “For years the gardens existed without a sponsor. The college’s commitment is an important investment in the community as well as in its students.”
The college plans to use the gardens to support student volunteer projects and other community sustainability efforts. In addition to the new financial partnership, the Borough of Greenville will continue providing ongoing plant care and maintenance, and in-kind support as the garden steward. The Conservancy will continue providing flowering annuals and grasses for the gardens. Previously installed irrigation lines will provide regular watering during the growing seasons.
To sustain its gardens, the Conservancy relies on the generosity of dedicated volunteers and a devoted group of businesses and organizations that lend financial support to its network of community gardens. Sponsorships make it possible for the Conservancy to purchase the flowers, mulch, tools and other materials, as well as coordinate the exceptional network of volunteers that are needed to keep local community gardens blooming and free of weeds and invasive plants.
For more than 30 years, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has worked with communities across the region to create highly visible community flower gardens in public places. Today, there are 132 community gardens in 20 counties across the region.
The Conservancy would also like to acknowledge and thank local resident Becky MacFadden who has been an advocate and steward of these gardens in Mercer County for the past seven years.
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About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy:
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) protects and restores exceptional places. A private nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1932, WPC has helped to establish ten state parks, conserved more than 255,000 acres of natural lands and protected or restored more than 3,000 miles of rivers and streams. The Conservancy owns and operates Fallingwater, which symbolizes people living in harmony with nature. In addition, WPC enriches our region’s cities and towns through 132 community gardens and other green spaces that are planted with the help of about 12,000 volunteers. The work of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is accomplished through the support of more than 10,000 members. For more information, visit WaterLandLife.org.
Media Contact:
Carmen Bray
Director of Communications
412-586-2358 (office)
cbray@paconserve.org