During NeighborWorks Week (June 1-8), Windham & Windsor Housing Trust along with other NeighborWorks network organizations across the country celebrate the achievements of communities and how NeighborWorks and residents work together to empower people to create meaningful change in their lives.
This year we’ll be bringing volunteers, staff, board, and residents together in a series of community building events. We would love your participation and this year we will have tee shirts! If you’re interested in either Tuesday or Friday’s events, please fill out this short registration form.
Tuesday June 4th, 9-12:30: volunteer morning in Weathersfield on future shared equity homeownership site with the Upper Valley Habitat. This volunteer half day will work in partnership with WWHT staff and Upper Valley Habitat to clear brush, repair the property’s planter, and get the site more ready for future construction.
Thursday June 6th, 11:30-2pm: Windsor Village Picnic and Resource fair with our SASH team.
Friday June 7th, 9-BBQ lunch: 4th annual Invasive Species management day (this is the one that needs the most hands! It is manual labor and we do provide tick repellant). We work with local conservation groups to gather volunteers, learn about invasive species and the importance of managing them to support ecological resilience, then roll up our sleeves to put knowledge to practice on a specific area each year. The hard work is followed up by a community BBQ! Please fill out the registration form so we can get a rough headcount.
Background on the Chalet: Purchased during 2020 as an emergency health response to COVID 19, WWHT with supportive services by Groundworks Collaborative converted the motel to 27 permanent supportive housing apartments for individuals exiting chronic homelessness. This emergency timeline of 3 months allowed for only basic health and safety updates. We entered the development with the acknowledgement that full redevelopment would be necessary given the age and quality of the building. We’re excited to be in the redevelopment planning stage! Read more about that work here.
Why invasive species management?: Over many decades, invasive species have carved out a foothold in the property. Japanese knotweed, Eurasian bittersweet, buckthorn, multiflora rose, phragmites are all found in abundance on the property and because of the lack of natural controls or competitors they easily crowd out the variety of native plants. Each year we’ve focused on a different area on the property while cleaning up the previous year’s plots. Last year we also added raised bed gardens and planted veggie starters for the residents- many of whom are avid gardeners.
Contact Marion mmajor@homemattershere.org with questions and to be a part of these events. Here’s a link to last year’s NWW reflection.
