News
Columbia Green Awards $12,000 in Neighborhood Grants
Columbia Green has quadrupled their Neighborhood Beautification Grant program this year, awarding close to $12,000 to various projects throughout the Columbia Metropolitan area. The grant program allows Columbia Green to reach out to neighborhoods, hoping to inspire pride in our city through beautiful landscaping. 8 awards were made, ranging between $3000 and $500 each.
Receiving grants were:
- The Department of Juvenile Justice on Broad River Road received a $3000 grant to assist in not only beautifying the facility, but to also serve as a learning lab for work based experiences and service learning projects for incarcerated juveniles at the facility.
- The Center of Inquiry, a Richland Two Magnet School located in Northeast Columbia, was also a $3000 grant recipient. The school plans to create additions to its Story Garden, with the help of the elementary schoolchildren.
- St. Peter’s Catholic Church on Assembly Street is the third recipient of a $3000 grant, and plans on using the funds to improve the courtyard area as well as plantings along Taylor and Assembly Streets. St. Peter’s is the oldest Catholic Church in the Midlands and is on the National Historic Register of Historic Places.
- Hand Middle School was selected to receive a $937 grant to fund a Carolina Fence Garden, which will serve as both an academic spot to teach outdoor learning and as a quiet place to read and reflect.
- Three neighborhood associations also received $500 grants that will assist in beautifying their communities both scenically and horticulturally. These communities are: Forest Hills Neighborhood Assoc., Spring Valley Homeowners Assoc. and The Bradley Neighborhood Assoc.
Columbia Green Grants are open to neighborhood groups, churches, schools and other organizations interested in landscaping public areas. Founded on 1984, Columbia Green is a non-profit volunteer driven organization that promotes horticulture and conservation in revitalizing the Greater Columbia Metropolitan area. For more information on the grant program or on Columbia Green, please contact Susan Hamilton at 865-9403 or visit www.columbiagreen.org.
