Community gardens offer an amazing opportunity to spend time outdoors and benefit from getting some vitamin D. They’re also amazing because they serve the whole community. That said, volunteering at a community garden in Rochester can be beneficial to not just you, but to the whole community as a whole. Here are four other reasons why it’s a great idea for you to volunteer at a community garden as you’re going to reap a number of benefits.
1. It’s Extremely Relaxing
Spending time in nature has been shown time and again to be very relaxing. This is supported by the fact that 50% of people responding to a survey said that gardening helped make them feel calm. Clearly, it’s a well-known fact that spending time outside can do wonders to take the stress of daily life off your hands. Whenever you have a free moment to spare, heading to your community garden to volunteer is sure to help you clear your mind and get you refreshed. This is especially important if you generally work indoors a lot as it gives you the chance to do something meaningful outdoors.
2. You Improve the Community
Another reason why it’s a great idea to volunteer at your local community garden in Rochester is because by doing so, you’ll positively impact your community. Keeping the community garden green and thriving is one of the best ways to give back and make sure that other people can benefit from it. Note that this is something similar to a recent study that showed that for every dollar spent at a small business, 68% funnels back into the community, according to Better Accounting. Clearly, the best way for you to support your community and ensure that you enjoy being a part of it as much as everyone else does is to volunteer wherever you can.
3. You’ll Boost Your Overall Health
Another benefit of spending time volunteering at your community garden is that you can boost your overall health considerably. Keep in mind that the typical American spends 90% of their time indoors. This cannot be good for health, given the fact that physical activity is recommended for people who want to stay in good health, both mentally and physically. That said, when you tend o your community garden in Rochester, you’ll be getting some physical activity done outdoors, and it will be a good, clean, and affordable way to unwind.
4. You’ll Learn a Lot of New Things
Last but not least, volunteering at your community garden is an amazing way for you to learn. From the types of vegetation that are native and that can thrive in Rochester to different plant species and more, you’ll be a lot more informed about nature. You don’t have to spend an extremely long period of time at your community garden to learn, each trip you make there may have a new bit of information.
As a result, you may be more inspired to start your own garden and improve your efforts to live more sustainably. You may also meet new people who share interests with you. Forming new friendships is always an amazing way to enrich your life. This may enable you to learn more about topics that you may enjoy discussing with like-minded people. These don’t even have to revolve around plants, and this is the best part.
These four reasons should motivate you to head to your local community garden in Rochester and volunteer there. You’ll be doing an amazing service to the environment and it will be worth your while. This is because you also stand to benefit from your actions, and so it’s clearly an amazing experience to have and share with your family if you have one.
I have always had an affinity for the mansions on east avenue, which is why I jumped at the opportunity to tour, video tape and photograph the house at 935 East Ave. While it has been used as offices since the 1950’s, they maintained much of the original character of the house. Many of the mansions on East Avenue have been converted into apartments, condos or offices. While the outsides have mostly maintained their original appearances, the insides have been divided, and even in one building I have been in, they have covered or painted woodwork and used office ceiling tiles. Some have even had “additions” attached. There are still a few that remain single-family residences though.
Many of you have noticed our extended hiatus and have begun asking if this is the end for RocSubway. I didn’t think it would be necessary to say anything about it. But for those of you who had followed this blog like religion for so long, you deserve some closure.
A little while ago I lost my job and decided to start my own web design business instead of going back to work for someone else. That was the best decision I ever made for myself. But it also means I now work pretty much nonstop with little time for anything else. What extra time I do have, I put into growing Reconnect Rochester . Reconnect is a nonprofit organization doing amazing work to change the way transportation is viewed in Monroe County. It’s something I’m very proud of. And it began with a seed planted right here.
So I’m not going away, really. I just won’t be posting much here for the foreseeable future. In the meantime you’re welcome to join me over at Reconnect . Or perhaps I’ll run into you somewhere else, helping to make our community better in your own way.
Before I sign off, I want to say thank you.
I’ve gained much more from every RocSubway reader I’ve met (virtually and in person) than what I’ve given on these pages. Always remember there are important lessons for the future buried deep within our past. Everywhere you look in this city—behind every wall and within every person—you will find a beautiful story. We’ve only scraped the surface.
On a recent trip to New York City (my previous home) I came across a poem in the subway by former U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins. I cannot think of better words to close with…
As you fly swiftly underground
with a song in your ears
or lost in the maze of a book,
remember the ones who descended here
into the mire of bedrock
to bore a hole through this granite,
to clear a passage for you
where there was only darkness and stone.
Remember as you come up into the light.
RG&E’s Beebee power plant was one of the most formidable structures in Rochester. For half a century, this cluster of buildings covered an 8 acre site along the floor of the High Falls gorge – climbing up the west rock wall and looming hundreds of feet in the air over Platt Street and the neighborhood below…
Since I’ve lived downtown I’ve had my eyes on this building. Not for much good reason except that it was there, and waiting. But despite being so close, it always stayed locked up and out of reach. In fact, over the years it seemed to defy everyone’s best efforts to occupy it – including those of its many owners…
Last week Medley Centre finally went up for auction. Angelo Ingrassia, former owner of Irondequoit Dodge, won the vacant building plus nine adjoining properties for the bargain basement price of $100,000.
The following images were taken last month (December 2015) inside Medley Centre…
In late October I got the opportunity to go check out a place nearby that I had heard rumors about—a house that has been frozen in a state of construction since 2005. I don’t really feel comfortable sharing the exact location, but the property is in Fairport, NY, out near Egypt on a nice, quiet residential street – surrounded by woods and shrouded in mystery…
Rochestersubway.com was first brought to my attention when I saw the University of Rochester’s Lost Swimming Pool article posted on social media. The photos were so beautiful and haunting that I was inspired to explore more on the site.
I was just starting to get into urban exploring and Rochestersubway.com showed me amazing locations in Rochester that I had never heard of. So I started to use the website as a reference for new places to explore…
Welcome to the old Vacuum Oil plant on the west bank of the Genesee River in Rochester’s Plymouth-Exchange neighborhood. Abandoned for nearly a century, there has been very little desire to re-develop this 26-acre site due to contamination. Now, the City of Rochester is aiming to use New York State’s Brownfield Opportunity Areas program to clean it up and plan for its future redevelopment. But as of today, this property is still highly toxic. And you guessed it—we’re going inside…
Last week a Facebook message came in from RocSubway reader, Nate Sengillo. Nate wanted to share photos from his recent trip to Frontier Town. I’ve never been there myself, but I know I’ve heard of this place before as my family has spent more than a few summer vacations at nearby Lake George. But now seeing Nate’s photos, I wish I had…
On my almost daily walk along State and Main streets I’ve often noticed this boom lift blocking the sidewalks around the Powers Building . I’ve never given it much thought. I just figured Daniel Powers liked his windows really clean.
Then, last week while at the Fringe, my RocSubway teammate Joanne Brokaw got introduced to Scott Grove. As it turns out, Scott is that guy hanging high up over Rochester’s sidewalks—and he’s not cleaning windows…
Over the past year I’ve been itching to move downtown (“Oh, you live really downtown” is the common response upon mentioning my address). This past spring I finally ripped the bandaid and moved out of my mom’s house. In the month between choosing where to live and moving in, I scoped out my new neighborhood nearly every day. It was always obvious that surface parking lots dominated the usable land in the St. Joseph’s Park neighborhood, or as I like to call it, St. Joseph’s Parking Lot. What shocked me was one particular lot that never saw a car. Morning, noon, and night I drove by the lot on the Northwest corner of the intersection at Franklin & Pleasant Streets . Every time there sat only a rusty chain and two cones across the entrance…
For years I’ve wanted to camp overnight near the Seneca Army Depot and see if I could get some photos of the famed Seneca White Deer. Finally, I decided it was worth getting up before sunrise and just driving out there . The morning had perfect conditions. Hazy clouds extended the sunrise until at least 7:30 AM. Prime time activity for the deer population…
The following is a guest post submitted anonymously with additional photos by Mike Governale
I was near the airport when Vice President Biden’s plane came in a few weeks ago. Held up by a road block, I happened to find myself near a junk yard full of old RTS buses. I knew traffic wouldn’t be moving for a while so I pulled over and got out to take a closer look. It was little bus graveyard…
Since 1955, Camp Haccamo has been a fun filled getaway for both adults and children with varying mental and physical disabilities. First established on Panorama Creek Drive in Penfield (just behind Panorama Plaza), Haccamo was free to the 300 plus campers per year who participated. But in 2009 camp organizers ended their relationship with the town of Penfield and moved to Rush, NY – while, oddly, leaving quite a bit of stuff behind…
The complex of the Rochester Psychiatric Center (a.k.a. Rochester State Hospital or Monroe County Insane Asylum) is legendary among urban explorers and history fanatics alike. Originally built in the early 1800s as the Monroe County Almshouse (or poorhouse), new buildings and facilities were gradually added to care for the mentally ill.
Although the hospital still operates to this day, a few buildings were closed in the mid-1990s and now sit in various states of decay. One notable example we’ve explored previously is the towering 16-story Terrence Building which looms over Elmwood Avenue. Another is the sprawling Walters Building (originally known as the Orleans Building) which we’ll be exploring today…
A good friend of mine, Ander Kazmerski , just posted some sweet drone footage of Rochester. The video focuses on two sites – the Rochester subway and the Carnegie building on Goodman Street just after its devastating fire. I don’t think I need to say much about it. These images speak for themselves. You’ll definitely want to go full-screen with this one…
I noticed grass growing on the piles of dirt in the Inner Loop construction project today. It’s as if nature can’t wait for the filling in of the Inner Loop to complete before reclaiming the land…
Here’s an interesting video we stumbled upon while diddling around on YouTube this weekend. This 7 and a half minute long interpretive dance exploration of the Rochester subway tunnel will totally blow your mind. Grab some popcorn and roll film…
Last year, as part of ROC Transit Day , we planned a city-wide treasure hunt where teams followed a series of clues (for over 19 miles) to be the first to find a $500 cash prize at the end. The only catch: No motor vehicles. All teams were required to use public transit, walk, or bike. (it’s in the rules!)
This year (Thursday, June 18) we’re doing it again. It’s completely free to enter, but you must pre-register here before June 17. Right now we only have 6 teams signed up, so your odds would be pretty good; as long as you have a good working knowledge of Rochester.
Still not sure if you’ve got the right stuff? Take a look at the clues from LAST year and see how well you’d fare…
Get Email Updates...
Stay up-to-date on Rochester-related stories, artifacts, and ideas that you won't find in the mainstream news.
Totally free, never spammy, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
After the Erie Canal was rerouted south of downtown Rochester, the Rochester
Industrial & Rapid Transit Railway (the subway) was built in
its place as a link between the five different railroads and interurban trolley
lines that served the Rochester area. As the industrial landscape of Rochester
changed, and highways replaced the railroads, the Rochester subway gradually
became a relic of a bygone era. In 1956 the subway was abandoned and much of
its route was converted into Interstate 490 built to connect Rochester
with the New York State Thruway (I-90). Read more about the history of the Rochester Subway.
RochesterSubway.com exists to help spark
public dialogue around how we can better connect the neighborhoods of Rochester
NY, surrounding communities, and their cultural offerings. Rochesters
future is written in her past. Let's rediscover it.