If you are anything like me, you’ve already walked around your yard or block—still brown and defeated-looking from months of snow—and tried to imagine what it will be in just a few weeks time. I have walked through our neighborhood and tried to imagine the Tulips on Washington Blvd, the tree branches once again bursting with green, and Lake Macatawa rippling freely with no icy lid.
There is no doubt that Spring in a climate like Holland’s also means the end of a long hibernation. As we revel in the melting snow and warmer air, neighbors and friends emerge from homes to take walks again, to go to the park, to play a sport, to work on the yard or send the children out to play with their friends in the sunshine. How will you re-engage with a neighbor with whom you haven’t spoken in months? Are there any new folks who have moved onto your block whom you can notice outside and give a welcome? Are there any projects such as Spring Clean Up, or planting a shared garden, or play dates at the park in which you can participate with the folks who live nearby? How can you deepen the connections you make with the folks who live where God has called you?
Washington School Neighbors is happily thinking of ways that we too can deepen and expand our network in the neighborhood this spring and summer. We are well into planning for this coming season of our 10th Street Community Garden, as well as encouraging neighbors to collaborate on gardening or landscaping on their own blocks. Stay tuned for events and activities that will be hosted for the community at the Garden! There will also be Ice Cream Give-Aways that folks can sign up to host in their driveways and yards. We are also eagerly looking for more “block connectors” to improve communications and keep growing our relationships even further in the neighborhood. If you are interested in participating in any of these, or have some great ideas for your own block, let us know!
~Janelle Lopez-Koolhaas, Neighborhood Connector