National Children’s Center Holds Build and Fill Project

From NCC: The National Children’s Center (NCC) in partnership with the Bridge Park and University of the District of Columbia will hold a build and fill on Saturday, June 3, 2017 from 8am-4pm at their Early Learning Center

(3400 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20032).

National Children’s Center, Inc. (NCC) is a 501©3 non-profit organization and is one of the region’s largest non-governmental providers of services for the developmentally disabled, offering an array of services to infants, children and adults in the Washington metropolitan area.

The Early Learning Center is located in the Anacostia neighborhood of Southeast Washington, DC where they serve close to 200 kids in Ward 8. The ELC’s mission is to provide high-quality early childhood education and early intervention for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years in an inclusive setting.

The 11th Street Bridge Park (Bridge Park), a project of Ward 8 based nonprofit Building Bridges Across the River and the University of the District of Columbia’s College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences are collaborating with faith communities and local non-profits organizations to design and build urban gardens that will be social and cultural hubs for residents and congregants in Wards 6 and 8.

These "Bridge Park Plots" are supported by The Kresge Foundation. As part of these ongoing efforts, Bridge Park staff are activating sites near the future park to grow healthy fruits and vegetables in a recognized food desert. On Saturday, June 3 National Children's Center launches the sixth Bridge Park Plot working with local
residents and volunteers. The Urban Garden Project will give NCC the opportunity to mass-produce fruits and vegetables for the residents in the Ward 8 community.

Volunteers will work together to plant over 80 garden beds of fruits and vegetables.

Local dignitaries from the community and the DC government will also be in attendance.

The Urban Garden Project will help in addressing the food insecurity in the area and maximizing on the use of urban spaces for the community’s benefit.

Image courtesy of NCC