I’m not a professional “green” person. I was never a “green” person until I became president of the community association, so now you’ll see me on Saturdays and Sunday picking up trash from the lots, because it needs to be done. We have over 100 lots in the community that are vacant and abandoned. We’ve adopted 84. We have a community garden that’s organic. Children can play freely. We have kids playing basketball, lacrosse, soccer. They need open spaces.
The struggle around here is real! You got to understand what your community wants and what their needs are. At the same time you have to try to move them progressively into the next phase. Because we just can’t always talk about what used to be; we’ve got to talk about what is. We have to strategize to try to figure out how we can maintain what we have but grow it to the next level.
Cynthia Gross is President of the C.A.R.E. Community Association, where she is leading efforts to promote greening of vacant lots, affordable housing, and renewable energy for low-income residents. (Photo by Taylor Evans/New Lens.)
Find out more about programs and resources to help you with community greening and transforming vacant lots.
The #EveryStoryCounts Campaign
You don’t have to be a climate scientist or city planner to create sustainability + resilience. Everyone has a story to tell about making Baltimore a stronger, fairer and safer place for all of us.
Be a part of our #EveryStoryCounts Campaign by sharing yours on social media using the hashtag #EveryStoryCounts, or by sharing your words and pictures with us at sustainability@baltimorecity.gov.