1-09-2024 1:14pm

With Many Hands Doing Big Things in 2024 “Alamogordo Proud”

Chris Edwards Editor

AlamogordoTownNews.com and Streaming KRAZY KALH Radio highlighted Courtney McCary-Squyres and her With Many Hands Alamogordo organization last year as a successful initiative as a part of our “Alamogordo Proud” series

Since our initial coverage the organization has been working hard to educate the public on its mission and to expand its presence within the Alamogordo community. They are moving forward in big ways!

Their early very visible presence was as an early partner to the Alamogordo MainStreet, New York Avenue Alleyway Art Project. With Many Hands joined and enhanced that project, by adding a food for the people element, with raised planters as a part of a community garden concept. This showed how food and nature can be incorporated into an urban revitalization landscape and is an example for further expansion.

All the while working on that project, concurrently, the organization was working with City Commissioner Sharon McDonald, city officials and championed by incoming commissioner Warren L Robinson, to create a community garden across from the Dudley School revitalization project, also within the Chihuahuita neighborhood.

Working with the city; contracts were signed to allow the project to move forward. So now, With Many Hands Alamogordo will fund, facilitate and maintain a new community garden in this neighborhood on the turn around.

In a statement from Courtney which she also posted to social media she said; “It’s official, I’m going to have to start answering my phone “Hi, this is Courtney from With Many Hands Alamogordo, and the community garden initiative”. The calls have started to roll in! WE HAVE LAND!! And we are breaking ground on our first ”blight to bounty” property on Saturday, January 27th at noon.”

The concept of turning blighted properties into community gardens is a concept seen in urban areas such as Memphis and other major cities. It is an appropriate approach to grassroots revitalization of the area around Dudley School, which was once an abandoned property and blight.

A cool video of a blight to bounty project in Memphis where I once lived, is a great example, of community pride via this concept…

https://gardensartlife.com/from-blight-to-bounty/

For this new Alamogordo Community garden the public is invited to join in. Per Courtney; ”please come celebrate with us. We have a wish list and will have a donation drive the day of the ribbon cutting for community members to drop off no longer needed garden supplies and our BIG ASK is for soil, which is linked on our wish list.”

By situating this first large scale community garden by the Dudley school, and partnering with the City of Alamogordo’s Parks and Recreation Department to utilize the Maryland Ave. property as a public garden, With Many Hands Alamogordo is committing to maintain the Maryland Ave. garden as well as offer gardening, cooking and preservation classes to the community in the gardens and utilizing the new Dudley Center as a community center and a place of pride.

These community outreach opportunities will be facilitated at the Dudley school upon the opening of the Dudley school and the completion of the community garden. For community members who are interested in volunteering to help maintain the garden or supporting the garden efforts, please contact Courtney McCary-Squyres by email at sojournerstyle@gmail.com or by phone at (940) 395-8240. You can also stay connected with the garden updates and events by joining the Facebook group “With Many Hands Public Land for Food Campaign-Alamogordo” and by liking the Facebook page “With Many Hands Alamogordo”.

With Many Hands is expanding its partnerships to include those involved in technology and showing a connection to nature. On December 30th “it was the perfect day to start a garden” per Courtney when she met with a team of students from the First Lego League. This club engages students in STEM education and they are currently working on building a garden app for their upcoming competition. In December they did some practical, hands on, beginning gardening training and they learned the ins and outs of starting seeds.

The organization is also known for its healthy lifestyle programs and they have one scheduled on February.

Save the date of February 20th and join With Many Hands as they take part in a community event in conjunction with HEAL (Healthy Eating Active Living), 100% Otero and Otero County Community Health Council

As they start off our new year With Many Hands is working to partner with community organizations with likeminded community building goals. Start the year off on the right foot and join for their first community walk of 2024. They’ll be walking inside the mall from 4:30pm to 6:00pm (this is come and go but feel free to stay the whole time if you have specific step goals.

Thus, congratulations on this organization and the difference it is making to Alamogordo

It continues to represent the “Alamogordo Proud” movement we created at AlamogordoTownNews.com and KALH Radio to spotlight the best and positivity of Alamogordo and the Holloman area.

Join this organization on their Facebook page to learn more.