By Samantha Murphy
You would never think that the beautiful garden located between M&T Bank and the South Buffalo Chamber of Commerce on Seneca Street was once an abandoned lot filled with garbage and weeds. The South Buffalo Crew, an organization determined to beautify South Buffalo, has spent the last few months planning and turning this eye-sore into a scenic garden.
The South Buffalo CREW (Concerned Residents Engaged in Work) got its start on facebook. Many people were complaining about the litter piling up all over local streets. A facebook page, titled “Clean-up South Buffalo,” soon led to the organization of the group.
As snow melted, the South Buffalo CREW gathered volunteers and began cleaning up local parks and streets. As the group gained popularity, they began to take on bigger projects, such as cleaning up Cazenovia Pool and even planting 400 trees on South Park Avenue!
David Tornow Coffee, one of the founders of South Buffalo CREW, helped to plan and put this garden into motion.
“Matt Fischer, who works for Mickey Kearns, brought the lot to my attention. He came to me with a couple of ideas and the South Buffalo CREW really got the ball rolling. It’s a very visible lot and to have it just filled with weeds and garbage would be terrible for the community.”
The planning for the garden began in March and ground was officially broken in April. Since then, there have been specific days designated for weeding, planting, and mulching.
This project was funded mainly through donations made by neighboring businesses of the garden; M&T Bank, Mark Schroeder’s Office and The South Buffalo Chamber of Commerce. Mickey Kearns and South Buffalo Alive also made contributions. Almost all of the plants, trees, and other materials were also donated.
The Seneca Street Garden is just one of the many gardens that was featured in today’s South Buffalo Garden Walk. The Garden Walk featured over 60 gardens and will be scattered all over South Buffalo and The Old First Ward.
Another local project taking place on Seneca Street will help local artists and businesses alike. Storefronts along Seneca Street will be displaying the artwork of local artists. Some of these businesses are Key Bank, M&T Bank, The Salvation Army, AmeriCorps, and the South Buffalo Chamber of Commerce. The artwork will be on display during the garden walk and many will also be for sale. The artwork varies from paintings, digital art, photography, and others.
The South Buffalo CREW is always looking for more volunteers. If you are interested you can join their Facebook page or browse their website.