Baltimore Community Fellowships
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Baltimore, Maryland
2005
One of the first things Peter Babcox did after becoming an OSI fellow was to purchase 1,200 seedlings. With the seedlings, the former kindergarten teacher has become an urban Johnny Appleseed, working to beautify the city's Remington neighborhood.
Teaming with young people from the community and students from nearby Johns Hopkins University, Babcox has installed more than 20 colorful pocket gardens in a neighborhood with few green spaces, and people are coming to him asking for more.
He has also sewn morning glory seeds along desolate fences, which will produce an explosion of color, and he will plant late-blooming flowers and bulbs for the spring.
Babcox also hopes to establish an after-school program to get young Remington children involved in community art projects. "I really want to expose children's creativity to the neighborhood," Babcox says. "I know young people have wonderful artistic aptitude. Our goal is to make Remington a child-friendly community."
