Help needed to plant Pittsburgh-area community flower gardens

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is seeking volunteers to assist with planting some of its Pittsburgh and Allegheny County community flower gardens.

“Healthy people of all ages who want to get outdoors and help beautify local communities can sign up now to volunteer through mid-June,” the Conservancy says. “To prevent the spread of covid-19, volunteers will be asked to follow social distancing and public health guidelines.”

WPC will limit the number of volunteers to 15 per garden and all volunteers will be required to wear masks and bring their own gardening tools. A full list of the safety protections can be found on WPC’s website.

For more than 30 years, WPC has worked with communities across the region to create community flower gardens in public places across the region, installed each year with the help of thousands of local volunteers.

Volunteer turnout is expected to decrease this year with the pandemic. Also, some gardens located either on school properties, under construction or in need of financial sponsors will not be planted.

Lynn McGuire-Olzak, a volunteer coordinator for the gardens program, said the container-bound flowers are now blooming and need to be put in the ground soon to grow.

“We will greatly appreciate all the volunteer help we can get now for plantings and in the future for weeding projects to maintain the gardens,” she added.

“Volunteers also benefit by getting fresh air, physical exercise and the satisfaction of helping nature and our gardens work. But our goal remains the same, to make sure everyone stays healthy and safe while volunteering their time with us,” said Art DeMeo, the director for WPC’s Community Gardens and Greenspace program.

Individuals, community groups and families can sign up for planting by calling 412-586-2324 or emailing lmcguire-olzak@paconserve.org.

In addition to the community gardens, WPC will have future volunteer opportunities for building trails, pulling invasive plants and cleanup of nature reserves. Interested individuals should call 412-288-2777 for more information.

Details: waterlandlife.org