Wynwood has so much going for it -– great art, a neighborly feel, creative eateries, lots of startup energy, and did I say great art? But it sorely lacks butterflies, bees, parks and trees.
Yet, there's hope.
The LAB Miami recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to turn its dreary alleyway into an open green space dubbed the IdeaGarden (rendering above). The Lab is using a platform for civic projects called Neighbor.ly to raise $30,000. The LAB has raised about $7,000 and has 21 days to go. The LAB hopes to unveil the garden by Art Basel.
The LAB’s pitch: By leveraging the local creative community’s talent, we will build Wynwood’s first green open space that also reflects the atmosphere of The LAB and neighborhood: a congregation point for creativity, ideation and innovation. The garden will be a site to host classes or build projects around sustainability and emerging green technologies. It will be a destination for healthy living with farmers markets, community gardens and yoga seminars. It will be a place to recharge not only your laptop through its solar-powered charging stations, but also your peace-of-mind as you relax under the shade of native vegetation.
“This is an initiative that will hopefully kickstart more green projects in Wynwood, where there is an extreme lack of green space. The garden will be a place for members and the public to work, attend events and workshops, host film screenings, farmers markets, etc.,” said Wifredo Fernandez, co-founder of The LAB.
The ultimate goal: replicating this model throughout Wynwood (Yes, there is space -- how about some rooftop gardens?). But first there’s an IdeaGarden to fund, plant and grow because Wynwood needs some butterflies, bees, parks and trees and we need to start somewhere.
View a video here: http://neighbor.ly/projects/57/video_embed
Read more and fund the project here: http://neighbor.ly/ideagarden
