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GardenAerial is a non-profit organization working to transform the High Falls gorge, including its industrial structures and trails, into a multi-use, public green space. Full disclosure…I serve on the board of the GardenAerial. I jumped at the opportunity to support this organization because I believe the High Falls and surrounding area could be great assets for this city, but they are woefully underutilized. We’re working to change that. And here’s a tremendous opportunity for you to help right now…

The GardenAerial team is pur­su­ing efforts to design and install a 300 foot-long sunken orna­men­tal gar­den along side Brown’s Race . Brown’s Race has fallen into disrepair over the last 20 years. Most recently, the pumping system supplying the raceway with water has completely failed, and the absence of water movement has led to waste and trash collecting in the race. The historic buildings in this neighborhood have been restored and are occupied, but the streets are gray and cold looking. This sunken garden would bring the mill raceway and street back to life with a beautiful display of natural color, vegetation, and a running stream of water through it all.

An online fundraising campaign has been set up to help kick off the project. It explains:

The sunken garden will focus on creating a year round attraction through the plantings of ornamentals, evergreen and deciduous shrubs, perennials, and a variety of grasses. The project scope will include creating the ability to heat the water in the race to allow for an active engaging garden even in the harsh winter months in upstate New York, and will feature a variable pump to create a ripple effect throughout the race… Friends of the GardenAerial will seek to utilize sustainable methods to heat and power these features, including exploring the use of rain barrels and wind power, and solar panel technology.

GardenAerial has already secured the help of landscape designers and suppliers, plus the support of the City of Rochester in making structural repairs to the race itself.

But we now need the support of the Rochester community to begin to fund this project and make it a reality. You can help by making a donation (no amount is too small), and sharing the link with friends.

Don’t miss this chance to make a positive impact!

Tags: Browns Race, Center at High Falls, downtown Rochester, Friends of the GardenAerial, GardenAerial, High Falls, Rochester, Rochester NY, sunken garden

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 7th, 2013 at 7:56 am and is filed under Art + Culture, Rochester News, Transit + Infrastructure, Urban Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.