We knew that Turner Station had a long and storied history ; this was one of the main attractions to taking on a site in the community. We knew this was a community with a lot of pride, a lot of heart and strong leadership. What we were unsure of was how to incorporate NeighborSpace and this new property into what Turner Station is, was and will be….

Above: A promotional banner for the new NeighborSpace park off of Dundalk Ave. in Turner Station

The lot NeighborSpace took on is at the very northern edge of the community in the quadrant of Turner Station known as “Old Turners” (shown left), which has many of the community's older and more historic homes. It is also the only green space in the area,  with Turner Station’s other parks, Turner Station Park and Fleming Park, being located much further to the south on the waterfront.

NeighborSpace has been very excited about this site and we were happy for the opportunity to speak with TSCT President, Gloria Nelson, TSCT Vice President, Edie Brooks and a few other local leaders via Google Meet a few weeks ago. We discussed having an event in the Fall and I assumed it would be my job to put it together. However, a couple weeks later, Edie Brooks told me they would be hosting an event at 6:30 A.M. on Saturday, 7/25. I would be lying if I didn’t say this was a little early for me, but the initiative and desire to work at 6:30 was new and inspiring.

That Saturday, when I arrived at the park at 6:30 A.M. it felt like half the Old Turners community had shown up. By 7:00 A.M it felt like the rest of the community had shown up. We worked diligently at all the fun activities, from chopping up overgrown bushes to cutting down invasive trees to pulling up the wide selection of invasive vines (shown below). 

With such a big crew, we accomplished quite a lot in only a couple hours.

Soon after, it was no surprise when Edie said we would be going again at 6:30 A.M. Fortunately, I was able to procure a grant from Republic Services for a free dumpster and on Saturday, 8/8, we were back at it.

This lot on Dundalk Ave has a long way to go before meeting its vision of a robust garden oasis. However, the strength and unity of this community provides much hope for what can be accomplished here. There will be lots of talks, more working days, a community survey, and money spent; however, for starters, one 6:30 A.M. event at a time.