We are excited to announce that the 2020 East Side Garden Walk will continue our mission of sharing our gardens, and because of Covid-19, this year’s East Side Garden Walk is more important than ever! Nutrition and lifestyle are risk factors for Covid-19, and studies of Buffalo’s East Side in zip code 14215, among others, show residents there suffer a disproportionate risk of contracting the disease. The East Side Garden Walk helps to address those risk factors.
East Side gardener Cheryl Harris, who has collaborated with Cornell Cooperative Extension using her own extensive vegetable gardens, says studies show how being in nature and growing our own food helps to tackle those risk factors. She points to a study at St. Louis University that showed both adults and children eat more fruits and vegetables when they grow them. Studies also show that the simple act of connecting with nature, be it looking at trees, walking barefoot on the earth, or watching plants grow, produces physical, mental and emotional benefit. Cheryl Harris is available for an interview.
In light of the current pandemic, the health and safety of our participants and visitors are our top priority. As a result, we’ll conduct the 3rd Annual East Side Garden Walk online and in person with activities that are appropriate for social distancing. The East Side Garden Walk will feature content on social media, on our website, EastSideGardenWalk.com. The East Side Garden Walk will also contribute to Buffalo Garden Views: Sharing in July, along with Garden Walk Buffalo, to create a “virtual garden month”.
Each week of July will be packed with events that visitors from the Buffalo Niagara region–and around the world–can enjoy on social media, and where appropriate, in person. These activities include.
Self-guided walking and driving tours of front yard gardens
Video tours of backyards in bloom
Live conversations with and tips from garden experts
Online giveaways, games, and shopping experiences
Stories from gardeners across the region
The East Side Garden Walk is committed to connecting our community through garden sharing, and we are working hard with the support of Gardens Buffalo Niagara to develop a summer filled with gardening activities. Buffalo Garden Views will include daily opportunities to safely enjoy the region’s gardens throughout July.
With thanks to the East Side Garden Walk 2020/2021 sponsors: Kennedy for Senate, Grassroots Gardens, Council Member Mitch Nowakowski, County Legislator April Baskins, Mayor Byron Brown, Buffalo Chiropractic & Acupuncture, East Lovejoy Coalition of Neighbors, Iron Island Museum, Howard Johnson Erie County Legislator District 1, None Like You/We Care Community Outreach, Assemblywoman Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes, and Pure Podiatry of WNY. While things may be done differently this year, we will continue to do what we set out to do three years ago: to create a vibrant and beautiful community by sharing our gardens. Finally, the East Side Garden Walk is committed to returning to our traditional garden walk in upcoming seasons.
