GreenSpace News

The Bowmanville GreenSpace is ours to develop.  We have cleared the lot!  Now we need your help to realize the vision.  See who is supporting the BCO GreenSpace project.

Fundraiser parties for GreenSpace:

Jan 2nd at 7 PM Click the link here to see the PDF Flyer

 

 

BCO GreenSpace Conceptual Design Plan 

Neighborhood input has been invaluable in preparing the conceptual design for the green space at 5384 North Bowmanville. 

Through neighbor suggestions and discussions at our two charrettes (brainstorming sessions), we have developed an overall concept of a “Neighborhood Yard”.  Much like your own backyard, it serves multiple purposes and moods.  It serves as a natural playscape that is appealing to all ages and abilities.  It expands and preserves green space within the community, in keeping with the pastoral tranquility of the Rosehill Cemetery setting.  Neighbors will find a place for quiet reflection amidst a natural habitat where birds and butterflies will also find a home. 

In this conceptual design, an arbor welcomes you and starts you on a pathway through the space.  Providing continuity with our existing garden on Bowmanville Avenue, plant and hardscape elements will turn the corner at the end of the Rosehill Cemetery wall, and fill the southeast corner of the new space. Two berms, at the northeast and southwest corners, create an amphitheater-like gathering area.  The design will feature three engage-able areas made of natural materials, such as a stump stomp, a rock walk, and a neighbor-designed birdhouse forest.

 

 

BCO Successfully Acquires Site For Greening
By Cindy Burgin  
There’s big, green news in the neighborhood!The BCO is proud to announce the successful acquisition of the property at 5384 N. Bowmanville Avenue, a purchase that moves us closer to reaching our goal in Phase I of the Greenspace Initiative.The property, currently a single-family home (below), sold by the Rocks family, residents of Bowmanville for generations, has been secured as part of a multi-phase initiative led by the GreenSpace Committee to acquire permanent greenspace for our community.

Over the next few months, thriving plants and shrubs on-site will be preserved and transplanted by community volunteers, as a redevelopment plan for the site is created.

The existing house will be demolished, new fencing will be installed, and the site will be re-graded.

This acquisition is the result of a community effort to create a community space.

Interested residents have been brainstorming uses for open space since the Greenspace Committee formed in 2008. A community survey was conducted in Winter 2009 and a charrette, or brainstorming session, was held on March 6, 2010. Both exercises have helped guide the committee’s vision for the space.

But the ultimate design of the space will stem from the next charrette, or brainstorming session, on Saturday, Aug. 21 at 1 PM – location Temple Steel/Training Room

The location is a strategic one — it abuts our award-winning Bowmanville Garden and is adjacent to the open space that the community currently uses for special events, with the permission of Rosehill Cemetery. We believe that, the purchase of this property will enable the community to positively affect future, potential development along Bowmanville Avenue.

Funding for the purchase of the property is made possible through the generous support of Mayor Daley and the City of Chicago, and Corlands, a division of Openlands, a Chicago-based organization founded in 1963 and dedicated to protecting the natural and open spaces of northeastern Illinois and the surrounding region. Corlands works to ensure cleaner air and water, protect natural habitats and wildlife, and help balance and enrich our lives.
5384 Bowmanville Demolition on Tuesday Aug 31, 2010

The beginning of a new permanent green space in Bowmanville!