Believe it or not, this is a great time of year to think about gardening. That’s because Garden Walk Buffalo has announced that applications are now available for groups and organizations to apply for a Lunenfeld Beautification Grant. This annual grant – the namesake is the founder of the Garden Walk – is the ideal way to raise funds for instrumental garden initiatives in the city of Buffalo. In 2019, the following entities received crucial funding:
- Claremont Community Block Club
- Block Association of 16th Street
- Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park
- Linwood Avenue Preservation District
- Chippewa Alliance
- One Symphony Circle
- Mekeda Corporation for People’s Park
- Elmwood Village Association
- Middle Highland Block Club
- Willowlawn Street Block Club
Each of the groups listed above applied for, and won, funding to go towards projects such as community gardens, street side planters, historical garden restoration, street pole banners, and even annuals for baskets.
The funding allotments depend on a range of criteria, including cost of initiative, matching funds from government, private contributions, or volunteer sweat equity. Since 2005, the Garden Walk has issued $100,000 in micro-grants to block clubs, nonprofits, and community groups. Each of these allotments was granted to projects within the Garden Walk footprint, which has expanded over the years. The projects are also all viewable from the street. Other than that, the world is your oyster flower (the plant, indigenous to North America, features leaves that actually taste like fresh oysters).
Lunenfeld Grant Applications now available online – but the deadline is coming up quickly – Saturday, February 29, 2020 with funding awards announced late April. The awarded projects will be highlighted during this year’s Garden Walk. More information, and a link to the application can be found here. The application process is easy and we offer assistance if needed. Past recipients of Lunenfeld Beautification Grants can be found here.
Garden Walk Buffalo is held the last weekend of July each year, in 2020, on Saturday and Sunday, July 25 and 26, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In 2019, more than 400 residences throughout Buffalo opened their creative urban gardens for an estimated 65,000 visitors from around the U.S., Canada, and abroad.
Lead image: Past winner – Parkside’s Willowlawn Street Block Club median plantings. Photo credit: Willowlawn Street Block Club