[photo credit: Eventbrite]
Arlington Garden’s monthly “Weekend Projects on Final Saturdays” volunteer event takes on special meaning this January 31, coming weeks after the devastating Eaton Fire displaced over 100,000 residents and destroyed more than 9,000 buildings. Many of the garden’s volunteers and board members lost homes in Altadena.
The garden’s story begins in 2003, when Betty McKenney looked down at the vacant lot below—a staging ground for the halted 710 Freeway extension—and announced: “That should be a garden!” By summer 2005, the first plantings went into soil that had been mowed twice yearly by Caltrans.
Today, Arlington Garden hosts 25,000 visitors annually to explore its 350+ trees and thousands of native and Mediterranean-climate plants. The garden operates under an unusual arrangement: Caltrans owns the land, the City of Pasadena holds the lease, and the nonprofit manages operations.
During the Eaton Fire, it provided refuge for displaced residents.
Saturday’s projects, led by Board Chair Sybil Grant, might include replanting native walks, redesigning heat-damaged areas, or cataloguing species. No prior experience is necessary.
Weekend Projects on Final Saturdays will run on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Arlington Garden, 275 Arlington Drive, Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 578-5434 or visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/weekend-projects-at-arlington-garden-tickets-142264074677?aff=oddtdtcreator.
