Urban Roots

The Beginning

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Gateway Greening's efforts to enliven downtown St. Louis streets with splashy tropical plantings are in full bloom.       

What started as an on-air dialog on Charlie Brennan's KMOX morning program during winter of 2003 between Charlie, Kevin McGowan, a downtown loft developer, and Dennis Woldum, Gateway Greening Board Chair, led to planting flowers in street planters along Washington Avenue the next spring. On a rainy day in May, Gateway Greening members and St. Louis Master Gardeners volunteered to transform Washington Avenue between Tucker and 14th Street into a colorful, flowering streetscape. Funds for the plants were garnered by Charlie Brennan's on-air fundraising, soil and fertilizer were donated by Spectrum Brands and additional planters were donated by Ace Hardware.

 

Soon after the Washington Avenue flower plantings began to bloom, the thirst to learn more about urban beautification initiatives led to an informal, Chicago-bound delegation, including: Charlie Brennan, the McGowans, Dennis Woldum, Bill Ruppert, Gwenne Hayes-Stewart and Tricia Freund of Gateway Greening to see public space enhancements under the "greening" leadership of Mayor Richard Daley. Led by Marti Bjornson, ACGA Board Member, the group met with Mayor Daley's team and others who joined together to create the new Chicago look:

 

The Chicago model sparked the interest of others in St. Louis to pursue downtown landscape projects. Via on-air fundraising efforts of Charlie Brennan and volunteer coordination of Gateway Greening and other organizations, additional downtown streetscapes and public spaces were planted with flowers in May of 2005.The initiative blossomed into a group called Urban Roots.

Urban Roots is a downtown St. Louis landscape enhancement initiative led by a variety of nonprofit organizations, including:

The mission of Urban Roots is to recruit volunteers from the gardening, educational, business, horticulture and non-profit communities and provide resources for enhancement of the St. Louis urban landscape, improving the quality of life for those who reside, work and play in downtown St. Louis.

   

Urban Roots/Gateway Greening Sponsors, Supporters & Volunteers