St. Petersburg’s Bartlett Park neighborhood has undergone tremendous changes over the last few years. A large influx of new, younger residents has moved in to take advantage of cheap housing and the proximity to downtown. These newcomers and older residents have clashed over everything from code enforcement to crime. Even the neighborhood association has been racked by infighting, and once threatened to split into two separate groups. But last year, resident Andrea Hildebran came up with an idea to bring the neighborhood together for a common (and delicious) purpose: a community garden. Through sponsorships and donations, Hildebran and a core group of volunteers bought a vacant lot off of Martin Luther King Boulevard, cleared off the trash and began a community-wide project that has brought diverse elements of the community together to sow some good will. Look for the feel-good fruits and vegetables to sprout sometime this fall. 1443 Highland St., St. Petersburg, green-florida.org
This article appears in Sep 10-16, 2008.