Thanks to Cheryllynn Ireland and a great weekend for weather, all of the amphitheatre is cleared. JOB 1 is done.
Approximate dates are attached where we have them, and all women are welcome to jump in with us.

1. [CLEAR THE BENCHES] - done by April 21
2. MOVE DETRITUS FROM AMPHITHEATRE - done by John Cooney and his shop class
3. COVER WITH NEWPAPER
   
4. TRANSFER COMPOST TO GARDEN MAY 5 - again with thanks to  John Cooney and his shop class

We are looking for children, adults and families to care for the young seedlings that will be planted in the Secret Garden

 All our seedlings need is a sunny window, watering when required, and a little care!  Each seedling comes with a new pot/saucer and soil for immediate transplanting into it’s larger container.

 

If you can offer these seedlings a good home until they are planted in our ‘Y’ garden please contact

Apparently the wood can't be much older than 20 years. More questions and finally an answer. When the apartment building was built there was a children s playground installed. Later the equipment was moved to another location on the property. Still looks like an amphitheatre though.

During Iris members’ visits to YWCA Durham's Adelaide House to discuss some artmaking projects, an abandoned garden and amphitheatre was discovered on the property.  On seeing this, several of us imagined how we might work together with residents and other community members to begin a dialogue about reclaiming this space, perhaps even, to create an area where visual and performance art could take place. Taking abandoned and depleted earth, working it with our hands and tools, starting seedlings in early spring, tending to their delicate needs and then, finding a suitable location to flourish in our community garden, reflects the healthy growing conditions needed for all interdependent communities and life others. 

We are open to all possibilities. The renewal of the outdoor space at Adelaide House will seek to support and nurture a sense of belonging among the families temporarily housed at this place.  We, the IRIS Group, will be challenged to develop a way of working where all involved are equal decision-makers and participants with shared responsibility for the projects’ direction, activities and outcome.  We imagine creating a visual journal through photography, mixed-media/performance/installation events and activities, jointly developed with our collaborators. The achievements of this partnership can become part of the YWCA archive and, more importantly, a tangible and satisfying accomplishment for each individual woman, an accomplishment of growing an interconnected community that supports woman undergoing the trauma of dislocation, and deepens our relationship with the earth as a nurturing and life-sustaining environment.  Further to this we have invited students of the ESL program at E.A.Lovell School to participate as well as other community members.