COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Volunteers in Colorado Springs spent the day planting edible plants like serviceberry and chokecherry in a Stratton Meadows yard on Saturday, transforming it into a food forest.
The nonprofit Hey Neighbor hosted its fifth planting party. Volunteers included Stratton Meadows residents and students from the Sunrise Movement at Colorado College.
Hey Neighbor secured a grant for the yard makeover, covering all costs for the homeowner.
Kelly Bull, executive director of Hey Neighbor, said the organization is focused on building community from the ground up.
"We really work on connecting neighbors with each other, really working on the neighbor to neighbor relationships and making neighborhoods places where everybody loves to live,"
The project aims to beautify an under-invested neighborhood while bringing people together.
Kaviya Chidambaram, a volunteer from the Sunrise Movement at Colorado College, said the experience was eye-opening.
"Learned a ton today about how I can make small changes to my own house, to my own neighborhood to make big impact,"
The group plans to beautify another neighbor's yard sometime in October. Hey Neighbor currently operates only in Stratton Meadows, but hopes to grow to other neighborhoods in the future.
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