We first met with students from Park School in January 2010, when we partnered with Cho Benn Holback staff to lead them in a design charrette to brainstorm ideas for a block of homes in Baltimore City that Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake is restoring.

As part of the larger project, the Park School and Friends School students are focusing on creating a small park or community garden to replace an existing garage slated for demolition. In November and December, FTLA staff again met with students to assist with the development of site designs for the project, located on the 2400 block of Jefferson Street.

FTLA landscape architect Scott Huot advised the students to present concepts to community residents to get a better idea of what they would like to see in that space. To assist them in gathering feedback, Scott developed a base drawing with scaled benches, raised planters, shrubs and trees the students can use to incorporate the information they gather into one design.

Although November has come and gone, FTLA will continue its support of this worthwhile cause to help the students from Park School and Friends School take this project from boards to built, providing input on the students’ design and assisting with producing final construction documents. Stay tuned for updates on future developments with this exciting project.

This important project is designed to preserve the land and buildings on a 23-acre site adjacent to Catonsville High School and the Lurman Woodland Theatre. When completed, the Lurman Arboretun will feature programs in environmental education, forestry, gardening and arts.

FTLA staff have already developed two master plan concepts for the new arboretum, and additional support will be forthcoming once the local school officials has an opportunity to provide feedback on these concepts.

Joan, Aaron and the rest of the FTLA staff would like to thank all the non-profits and everyone who supported the 10 Years, 10 Causes initiative for helping celebrate FTLA’s 10^th anniversary by growing stronger, more connected communities in the Baltimore area.

The October beneficiary of FTLA’s 10 Years/10 Causes initiative to grow stronger, more connected communities while commemorating our 10^th anniversary, Federal Hill Preparatory School was the “People’s Choice” cause selected from three area non-profits at the start of the campaign.

The urban K-8 school serves children in Baltimore’s Riverside and Sharp-Leadenhall neighborhoods where even most backyards boast concrete instead of grass. As part of its commitment to helping public education flourish in Baltimore, the K-8 school’s PTO has worked hard to bring this reading garden to fruition. The new garden will offer students much-needed green space while also providing outdoor opportunities for reading, learning and even tending to a vegetable garden.

Working with PTO President Hugh Bethell, FTLA designed a master plan for the school’s new garden and will spend an upcoming Saturday helping to physically construct raised beds for the garden. Have a green thumb or want to lend a hand in creating a garden that will be enjoyed by hundreds of kids? Visit Federal Hill Preparatory School online to learn how you can volunteer.

Held at the firm’s historic Congress Hotel offices, the event featured sustainable snacks, refreshing drinks and thought-provoking conversation. Throughout the night guests had the opportunity to watch a slideshow featuring some of the firm’s work and background on each of the non-profits and to meet representatives from GEDCO, Baltimore Green Map,  OrchKids, Real Food Farm, Habitat for Humanity and Lurman Arboretum,  all causes FTLA supported during the initiative. At the end of the night, raffle winner Mike Reedy walked away with a $250 gift certificate to Woodberry Kitchen but the real winner was GEDCO Cares who received all cash proceeds from the raffle. 

A special thanks to Patchwork Catering for providing a savory array of local and sustainable foods, environmentally-friendly serving ware and compost and recycling receptacles to make FTLA’s Big Ten Event as green as possible. Most of all, thanks to everyone who stopped by to show their support for both FTLA’s 10 years in business and for the causes with whom FTLA has fostered relationships over the last 10 months.

As part of its 10 Years, 10 Causes initiative  designed to mark the firm’s 10th anniversary in 2010 by supporting 10 dedicated Baltimore-area non-profits, FTLA will provide the following landscape design services at no cost to Real Food Farm: 

• Layout and design for an outdoor gathering area that will serve as a meeting and teaching space and will include a non-electric prep kitchen
• Information and tips on capturing and reusing rainwater from the hoop houses and storage
• Design ideas for an interpretive, thematic path system that connects all of the site’s fields, houses and gathering space

About Real Food Farm

Located on six acres of Clifton Park in northeast Baltimore, Real Food Farm is an innovative urban agricultural enterprise run by Civic Works, a Baltimore-based urban service corps with the mission to build a future for Baltimore’s youth through community service and skills development.  

Using high-tunnel hoophouses (low-cost, low-input greenhouses) and sustainable farming methods, Real Food Farm is producing vegetables, fruits, and herbs to address the community’s food access issues and promote farming as a serious future for the city. Within three years, the Farm plans to: 

• Improve community access to organic, wholesome and real food
• Localize Baltimore’s food consumption, decrease the carbon footprint, improve the watershed and increase community development
• Promote experiential education opportunities
• Become sustainable and replicable

Real Food Farm is designed to serve the fresh food needs of five low-income neighborhoods adjacent to Clifton Park. With the help of the Baltimore community the Farm can reach its goal to provide for these neighborhoods. Please visit Real Food Farm today to learn how you can make a difference.

OrchKids uses music as a vehicle to provide the children of low-income neighborhoods in Baltimore City with mentoring, encouragement and a vision for a promising future. Thanks to the support of community partners, OrchKids is able to provide a during- and after-school program devoted to music appreciation, academics, citizenship, community awareness, family and health. OrchKids is committed to changing the lives of Baltimore’s children in significant and unique ways.

FTLA hopes to give more children the opportunity to experience making music by selecting OrchKids as the August cause in its 10 Years, 10 Causes initiative celebrating the firm’s tenth anniversary.

Click here to learn more about how you can support the mission and goals of the BSO’s OrchKids.

Baltimore Green Map uses the international Green Map^® System Icons to map Baltimore’s ecological and cultural resources in an effort to connect Baltimore area residents with “eco-opportunities” in and around the region as well as to track the city’s progress toward becoming a healthy, sustainable urban environment.

This July, FTLA is pleased to support Baltimore Green Map through a monetary contribution that will be used to fund website improvements for the organization.

Visit Baltimore Green Map online to check out green sites around Baltimore (including the FTLA-designed Community Mediation Garden and Baltimore Convention Center’s green roof). You can also nominate a site or resource for the map and find out how else you can help this worthwhile organization map the way to a greener tomorrow.

Since 2007, GEDCO’s CARES program has been supplementing the canned and packaged groceries it distributes with the fresh food vouchers. Although each individual still receives a supply of non-perishable items such as peanut butter, jelly, bread, canned vegetables, cereal, soups and spaghetti, the Farmers Market Voucher Program offers the opportunity to increase the nutritional value of these food items and encourage healthy diets through the addition of fresh produce.

With the onset of the current economic crisis, more people are seeking food assistance, with GEDCO Director Deputy Lin Romano pointing to a 40% increase in food assistance requests over each of the past two years. On the bright side, Romano says donors have responded overwhelmingly, donating more food than ever to the CARES pantry.

Says Romano, “The generous donation from Floura Teeter will help to provide local fruits and vegetables to low-income people in our communities. The people helped by CARES continue to tell us how much they love going to the Market! They appreciate the chance to select their fresh foods for their families and they enjoy the experience of community that they feel at the Market.”

To learn more about the GEDCO and CARES program and how you can help, please visit www.gedco.org.

As part of the firm’s 10 Years, 10 Causes initiative to support ten Baltimore-area non-profits, the FTLA team swung into action cleaning up the community garden located in front of the Community Mediation Program (CMP) offices on Greenmount Avenue. Their efforts included trash pick-up, debris removal, weeding and mulching. FTLA staff also coordinated needed tree replacement with Scapes General Contracting, the original project contractor.

FTLA is proud to support CMP, a non-profit program that strives to reduce conflict and community violence by making mediation more accessible in Baltimore City. Click here for more information on how you can support this worthwhile cause. And enjoy the last few weeks of spring!

In 2008, as part of CMP’s mission to “reduce interpersonal conflict and community violence and animosity by increasing the use of non-violent conflict resolution strategies and by making mediation more accessible in Baltimore city,” FTLA created a beautiful and relaxing meditation garden that offered the community a place for tranquility and reflection.

During the weekend of May 22-23, FTLA staff members and friends will be returning to the meditation garden located in front of CMP’s Greenmount Avenue building to pull weeds, mulch, replant and rejuvenate this beautiful oasis located right in the heart of a bustling downtown neighborhood.

We’re always looking for people to lend a hand, so if you’re interested in getting outdoors and helping to make a difference email us at 10for10@ftla.com. If you would like to learn more about CMP, visit www.communitymediation.org to see how you can become involved.