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Volunteers gathered at Ryan Park in South Norwalk this Saturday to weed, mulch, rake and plant.
Ganga Duleep, a longtime Norwalk resident and master gardener, spent the last year organizing the effort to beautify the neighborhood's only field of open space. The park, located on the corner of Day and Raymond Streets, includes a large grassy area as well as a basketball court and picnic benches. After she spearheaded the effort that prevented developers from acquiring the land, Duleep went on to establish Friends of Ryan Park, an organization of volunteers who help care for the property.
"The plan is to make it a gathering space for the community," said Duleep, who spends most of her time in the park these day.
She said she hopes to use the garden to teach children where food comes from. She helped plant an herb garden that includes cooking and medicinal herbs. She also used a large triangular patch of land to create "the pizza slice" where she has planted the ingredients, like tomatoes and basil, that go into a slice of pizza. The park also has apple, pear and plum trees.
"Some kids think that fruits come magically from the supermarket," she says. "They haven't seen fruit grow on trees."
Herb Edmondson, owner of Herb's Hot Dog stand, said he plans to bring his food cart to the park every Saturday as soon at the weather is warm enough. He is encouraging other vendors to do the a same.
"I want to get interest back to the park," said Edmondson. "I want to bring the people out here for their picnics and barbeques. If you have a tag sale, bring it out here."
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