The playground and skateboard area, sandwiched between the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and the George V. Brower Elementary School is often used by Crown Heights cultural institutions as a rehearsal space.

Rina, a community service volunteer from Pearson weeded the Prospect Place Welcome garden on Friday, October 9, 2015. The International Mosaic Church volunteers performed the next step of winterizing the garden with root and soil protecting mulch. Well developed plants were divided to provide a thick border in spring 2016. Volunteers worked for two days with beautiful results. There were smiles all around. Rina, will be returning to complete her community service hours which will be followed by her writing a narrative of her experience to share with Pearson colleagues.

The International Mosaic Church in Crown Heights Brooklyn has once again volunteered to help Friends of Brower Park care for its gardens and park infrastructure. Today, we prepared the Prospect Place Welcome garden for upcoming fence repair and the trevails of winter. Turning compost is a great opportunity for the young and old  to discover the insects that live in the soil and help break down our leaves into leaf mold compost).

the mammoth sunflowers planted by Friends of Brower Park with the Crown Heights community are beautiful and provide food for the park’s birds, bees and squirrels. Many park visitors have been taking selfies in the Monarch Butterfly Habitat. Do you know that the sunflower blossom is a compound flower. Each cell that will eventually contain a sunflower seed is a separate floret.This is an example of a natural system that benefits all its members.  For more information about the sunflower [Helianthus annuus] refer to the Wikipedia article on sunflowers, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the USDA Plant Database. You may just find out how a community of florets benefits the sunflower and the wildlife that dine on its seeds and pollin.

Do you know the parts of a sunflower? Download the sunflower anatomy game from the Earth’s Birthday Project and test your knowledge. If you need help click here to view the sunflower-anatomy answers.

Today was a beautiful fall day to volunteer in Brower Park–cool, windy, with passing clouds. We’ve begun putting our compost into the flower beds of the Monarch Butterfly habitat winterizing the garden to protect the soil and plant roots from the winter’s cold. About 15 Yeshiva students came by after school to help rake leaves. They were a whirlwind of helpful activity.

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