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North Belfast Alleyway Transformed

Gradient Ocean

Dixie Swenson

Aug 9, 2022

United Kingdom

Categories:

Gardening, Cities, Empowerment, Sustainability

In an article in the Irish News on July 28, 2022, Claire Simpson highlights the efforts of neighbors in a Belfast neighborhood to reimagine their alleyway as a place to enjoy and make neighborhood connections.


A disabled resident who couldn't get her trash bin out because of the debris in the alleyway conceived the idea. Government funding for road maintenance has been cut over the years. After not receiving help from the local government, the residents decided to do the job themselves.


The core group started with six individuals but multiplied rapidly to include a multi-generational cadre of about 30 who worked for a year on the project. Seniors and teenagers became acquainted and worked together on the project. The group planted vegetables and flowers to enhance the alleyway as a neighborhood gathering place. Moths from a nearby forest have appeared, much to the surprise of everyone.


Relationships have now formed with people who share the alley but live on adjacent streets, something that had not happened much before. People share gardening tools and advice.


One person's initiative can inspire others to join in to make our communities more pleasant, welcoming, and vibrant. Digging in the dirt and seeing the progress of a cleanup project is inspirational. There are opportunities in almost every community for projects like this, maybe not alleyways and gardens, but opportunities to bring people together in a shared vision to improve their world.


Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash.

Source:

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Catalog #:

0722.105.01.080922

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