City and the SAUSD to host Madison Park Garden Ribbon Cutting on 1/21

City of Santa Ana, Downtown Orange County

Community Alert: City and SAUSD Celebrate Madison Park Joint-Use Community Garden with Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

SANTA ANA, CA (January 15, 2014) – The new joint-use community garden and basketball court renovation project has been completed and will be commemorated with a ribbon cutting event on Tuesday, January 21 at the new garden in Madison Park at 11:30 a.m. Madison students, neighborhood families, teachers, Santa Ana Unified School District leaders and City leaders will come together and celebrate the opening of this unique partnership. This is the first joint-use garden in the city, creating a unique venture that will provide fresh produce for the community and an experiential site for the school’s science and health curriculum. It will add much needed open space for community members to convene, grow and access healthy food, and be active.

The Principal of Madison Elementary School, Ms. Ana Gonzalez said, “This is a unique opportunity for our students to learn about growing your own vegetables and fruits, health, and science. The children will also learn lessons on the importance of the neighborhood.” The project was built on city land and the school will benefit from the use of the new community garden and half-basketball court when it is in session.

The City’s Community Services Manager, Jeannie Jurado, said, “We are very excited to join the school and the Madison Park Neighborhood Association to provide this amazing opportunity to get fit and eat more fresh fruits and vegetables grown by the families and children themselves.” This collaboration was made possible when the City Council prioritized this concept with their approval to use federal Community Development Block Grant monies to pay for this $391,210 project.

This event is free and open to the public. After the ribbon cutting ceremony, there will be a seed planting ceremony with the students from Madison School. Refreshments will be served. For more information, please call (714) 486-4732.

THE RIBBON CUTTING EVENT WILL TAKE PLACE AT:
Madison Park, 1528 South Standard Ave. Santa Ana, CA (northwest corner of Edinger and Standard Avenues)

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Art Pedroza Editor

Our Editor, Art Pedroza, worked at the O.C. Register and the OC Weekly and studied journalism at CSUF and UCI. He has lived in Santa Ana for over 30 years and has served on several city and county commissions. When he is not writing or editing Pedroza specializes in risk control and occupational safety. He also teaches part time at Cerritos College and CSUF. Pedroza has an MBA from Keller University.

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