Manhattan Drive Neighborhood
Greenway Orchard and Native Planting

This community-launched project will bring new life into an under-managed City greenway.

The project began in the spring of 2020, when a small community orchard was planted that included plums, a peach tree, a hazelnut tree, aronia bushes, black currants, elderberry, and both black raspberries and raspberries in the greenspace. The goals for 2021 are to continue maintenance of the existing orchard and engage in invasive control of the adjacent zones by clearing the area of vegetation and introducing native trees and shrubs. To the west, neighbors will revegetate the area with native plants, establish a wind break along the northern edge, and extend the community orchard. To the east, neighbors will plant native tree species in an effort to increase canopy cover for this section of the roadway.

Goals:

• Planting a neighborhood orchard and community food forest
• Reestablishing the surrounding habitat through the introduction of native plant species
• Increasing neighborhood native tree canopy cover
• Designing a stewardship plan for a City green space managed by the surrounding neighborhood
• Planting windbreak while also preserving some view shed

Benefits:

• Repurposing an underutilized City space into a neighborhood food source
• Promoting ecosystem resiliency by replacing invasive species with native species
• Transforming a mowed space into a no-mow zone to attract pollinators and support plant productivity
• Providing a wind barrier for a relatively windy neighborhood
• Improving air quality and providing shade through increased canopy cover
• Increased civic engagement which empowers community members to addresses climate change
• Increasing scenic beauty
• Discouraging dumping and other greenway misuse