MARTHA COOPER WILL NOT

From Martha Cooper Manager, Tara Foxx-Lupo:

For questions, please contact Michelle Simon: michelle.simon@pima.gov, (520) 594-5654.

It was a lovely evening for a gathering of neighbors. Over 40 people attended last night and enjoyed the company, cool breezes, free books, lemonade, and lots of sweet treats. Be sure to swing by and check it out sometime soon!

Garden District has a community garden located at 1933 Bell, one block west of Swan, two blocks north of Pima. All plots are currently taken, but the site coordinators do maintain a waiting list or will help you find a vacancy in a nearby garden in another neighborhood. If you are interested, please contact maryann.harlow@gmail.com

Garden fees are $18 per month per garden plot. The fee covers the irrigation system, all water costs, and a shed full of tools for your use at the garden. Plot sharing is a great way to reduce costs and labor and to make a new buddy. Reduced fee garden plots are available on a limited basis for low-income gardeners. If you are interested in learning more, visit the Community Gardens of Tucson https://communitygardensoftucson.org/

Plots are 3 X 20. Even half a plot grows a substantial amount of food. The gardener supplies plants/seeds and soil amendments. No chemical herbicides or pesticides may be used, though chemical fertilizers are okay. Herbs, flowers, and vegetables may be grown, but not mint, trees or shrubs.

HISTORY OF THE GD2 GARDEN - Click here for photos.

In 2011, US Representative Gabrielle Giffords was a Garden District resident and lived in a townhome across the street from the property that would one day become the GD2 Gardens. Her Tucson office was within walking distance on the southeast corner of Pima and Swan in Garden District. She could often be seen bicycling around Garden District, sometimes in the company of her good friend, Brad Holland who lived across Bell Ave. from Gabby.

In 2011, Gabby Giffords and 18 others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a Safeway parking lot in Casas Adobes. 6 victims died.  After the shooting on January 8, Brad who owned the vacant lot across the street from Gabby’s townhome decided to honor his friend Gabby and donated the use of his property to Community Gardens of Tucson.

The GD2 Garden opened in the Spring of 2011. With the help of numerous residents and Community Gardens of Tucson, the 21 plots were soon dug, filled in with new dirt and compost and planted. The joke the first year of the garden was that if you drove, you better lock your car door or you would come back and find your car stuffed to the roof with zucchini and tomatoes.

All the flowers and plants from the 3 memorial sites to the victims of the Jan. 8 shooting were donated to our GD2 community garden. Close to 100 very large boxes were delivered to our garden and volunteers worked for weeks to compost, reuse, or repurpose the floral items left at the memorials. The bulbs and live plants were planted in the first bed as you entered the GD2 Garden. All the remaining plant material was composted. The vases, pots, and planters were distributed to nursing homes. The ribbon and floral picks that hold cards were given to an Art teacher. Paper products were either recycled or cut into squares for use in an origami project by a local artist. The GDNA volunteers tried to reuse or recycle everything they could from the bouquets and floral offerings.

Over the years, the GD2 Gardens has become a green space for neighborhood events and for residents to gather. Once a month, a Master Gardener used to present to large groups of interested gardeners, some of whom gardened at GD2, some gardened at home. Renowned Master Gardener and past garden columnist for the Daily Star, George Brookbank was a frequent speaker. The GD2 Garden has also been the site of many potlucks and “Stone Soup” feasts where gardeners contributed items from their gardens for the soup pot and others brought dishes to share.

MASKS OPTIONAL    

If you cannot attend, but have concerns about suspicious activity in the neighborhood, please send a detailed email to info@thegardendistrict.org. If you have concerns and have observed ON-GOING criminal activity, bring as much specific information as you can (addresses, descriptions of vehicles and people, etc.).  

Wright Elementary and 3 Head Start vehicles were vandalized sometime between 5 pm Friday, May 27, and the next morning. All the Head Start vehicles and the Wright building were covered with numerous tags with really inappropriate language and pictures.

Please be a good neighbor and as you walk or drive by Wright, cast an eye at campus to make sure that all is well. Do not hesitate to call 911 if you see something suspicious. You can also call TUSD Security. 520-584-7676 Their number is at the top of every newsletter on the right hand side.

Less graffiti helps Garden District to be more crime free!

please do all of us a favor and report it!    

If we are aggressive in reporting every, single tag, no matter how small, the taggers will move on to easier turf. The City's response is usually very quick within a day or two.

You can call 792-CITY (2489) 24 hours a day.

Email to graffiti@tucsonaz.gov or 

Access the online request form. 

For more information, go to:  http://www.graffitihurts.org/ 

WHY REPORT AND CLEAN UP GRAFFITI?

“All that is necessary

We’re super excited to welcome Tucson’s kid community back to The Loft Cinema for all the movies, magic and fun of LOFT KIDS FEST 2022!

59^th Annual Palo Verde 4^th of July Parade!

Residents should bring their own shovel. Sand & sandbags will be provided by DTM. There is a limit of 10 sandbags per vehicle. DTM staff will monitor the weather forecast as well as the National Weather Service to stage the self-serve sandbag program ahead of the first forecasted storm, to ensure you are prepared. B

Remember that Tucson Water has inclining block water rates meaning that the more water you use, the more you pay. Undetected leaks accumulated for some time can place you in the next block rate, therefore increasing your water bill. If you do experience a high bill, you can request an adjustment once every three years. 

If you do receive a high bill, or just want to run a leak inspection in your property to prevent one, follow the steps explained in the Smart Home Water Guide. 

If you have followed the steps outlined in the Smart Home Water Guide, and still can’t find the leak in your home, submit a High Bill Investigation or call the Tucson Water Solution Center at 520-791-3242 for more information. 

Free Conservation Kit 

Water Rebates 

Low-Income Free Toilet Replacement Program 

Low-Income Rainwater Harvesting Grant & Loan Program

Saving water is something that we can all do, but sometimes it's hard to know where to get started. We are excited about this new guide from Arizona Municipal Water Users Association (AMWUA)

that shows how Arizona residents can take simple steps to find and fix those small leaks that add up to big losses. Less water wasted means more water for your community.-Veronica Blette, EPA WaterSense Program

CHRPA is a local non-profit that’s out in the community assisting low-income folks with needed home repairs. Find them at http://www.chrpaz.org/ Use that link to get in touch with Scott Coverdale and his team. They do great work for some of the most needy in the community.

Tucson Parks and Recreation will host swim lessons for children ages 6 months-17 years old. Lessons will be offered for three, two-week sessions, June 20-July 28. The cost is $15 per session. Separate classes will be available for parent and child. Classes are viewable online now, and registration will open on June 7, at 8 a.m. on EZEEreg.com.

The City also offers aquatic fitness classes at multiple locations throughout the summer. A detailed schedule of locations and times can be found on EZEEreg.com. 

In addition, we are looking to hire approximately 200 more lifeguards to open additional pools this summer. Positions include lifeguard and WSI/senior lifeguard and require American Red Cross Lifeguarding Certification or equivalent. The City offers Lifeguard Certification classes for free and will continue to add more based on need. Register online at EZEEreg.com. If classes are full, you can join the wait list. 

For complete information on City pools, visit the Tucson Parks and Recreation website. 

To read about how the kennel space capacity meter works, please read about it here.

Find your new best friend at PACC!

Here is a coupon for a FREE adoption on any PACC pet! (Licensing fees may apply. This coupon also doesn't apply to reservation fees.)

FOSTERING: Every spring and summer, Pima Animal Care Center is inundated with tiny puppies and kittens; their volunteer foster parents play a huge role in helping save them. This year PACC is hustling to be ready to help them all -- but needs more foster parents.

For the last six weeks, PACC’s new foster coordinator, Michelle Lindorff, has been working to revamp the fledgling foster program. The changes include a streamlined application process, and a 1- to 2-hour orientation session on the basics of caring for a foster pet. 

PACC also has special classes in the works, like how to care for bottle babies, and they've fine-tuned an Amazon Wish List, so the littlest pets' needs are up at the top. 

“We're doing all of this so we can have as many well-trained foster families as possible when a special-needs pet, an orphaned litter, or a mom and babies come our way,” said Lindorff. "From intake, we can immediately call a foster parent on standby. That reduces the length of time that these moms and babies are spending in the shelter."

Being a foster parent entails picking up the pet from the shelter, giving them a safe environment to grow and heal, providing them with food, socializing with them, and in some cases, administering the medications PACC provides. Most foster pets stay with their foster families for 4 to 6 weeks. Foster parents report the experience of saving a life greatly enriches their lives. 

To become a foster parent, please fill out the application online. Once you've done that, PACC will contact you about attending a training class. You can also contact foster coordinator, Michelle Lindorff, for more information. 

If you can't foster, you can still help by donating a pet-care item from our Amazon Wish List. When you give this way, your donation is shipped right to our doors and goes straight to the pets.

REID PARK ZOO BEGINS SUMMER HOURS - As of yesterday, June 1, Reid Park Zoo is open during summer hours, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. The new hours are in effect through the end of September. You can see what's happening at the Zoo this summer by following the link below. 

Track & Field Events at Drachman Stadium, 501 S. Plumer Ave., 

Road Races at various locations each Thursday, Jun 9-July 21, beginning at 6 p.m.

The cost will be $3/youth (17 years and younger) and $4/adults (18 years and older). More information can be found on the Sports Unit webpage.

This summer, Tucson Parks and Recreation will host Summer Poolooza, free pool parties across the city. Events will include Ready, Set, Rec! vans with games and activities, food, music, inflatables, pool fun, and more. Join us for some fun in the sun.

HELP TEST OUR NEW WEBSITE - The City of Tucson is creating a new website, and we'd like your help. Volunteers are needed (for approximately 10-15 minutes) to take part in brief exercises as part of this process. Volunteers can also offer feedback about how it feels to navigate the website. Your input will make the new website experience more useful, effective, and intuitive. If you are not a City employee and you are interested in helping, please follow the link below to help in the testing process.

THERE WILL NOT BE A POSTCARD MAILED TO RESIDENTS

The email newsletter will be the only notice for the Roll Offs. The City only gives us one free postcard mailing a year and we used it in the Fall. We have over 1300 folks registered for this email newsletter. There are almost 7000 residents in the neighborhood. Please let your neighbors know about the dumpsters -- and while you are at it, ask them to sign up to be an informed part of our community and receive the GDNA newsletter. The link is at the top of every newsletter.

Grand Opening of a new

Little Free Library

on Bell next to

the Community Garden

SATURDAY, JUNE 4

ROLL OFF DUMPSTERS - June 23

Installation of Neighborhood

Identification Signs

Porch Fest 2022 and Plant Swap/Give Away in the Fall

Roll Off Dumpsters in Each Quadrant - June 23.

Brush and Bulky Curbside pick up - Aug. 8, 2022

Read the Ward VI newsletter by clicking here:

Click here for information on $2.000 rebate from Tucson Water for active and passive rainwater harvesting. Also, click here for more info from Pima County.

FREE CLASSES OFFERED THROUGH WATERSHED MANAGEMENT GROUP

To sign up, you can either reply to a newsletter or sign up on our neighborhood website. thegardendistrict.org  

YOU CAN ALWAYS CONTACT THE NEIGHBORHOOD BY HITTING REPLY TO A NEWSLETTER OR GOING TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD WEBSITE thegardendistrict.org Complete the Online Form.

AGI (Alvernon/Grant Initiative) Crime Meeting with Tucson Police and  

Garden District Neighborhood Association Quarterly Meetings - Time and date will be announced in this newsletter.

WELCOME TO GARDEN DISTRICT LETTER - When you get a new neighbor, print and share.