Whether it is planting trees for shade and beautification or tackling issues with broader implications, the success of any neighborhood association begins with neighbors getting to know one another. From there, the work begins.
In the Westown Amended Neighborhood, bounded by Pierson Street south to Campbell Avenue and 19th to 17th Avenue, neighbors gathered in January to plant 68 trees that their neighborhood association obtained through the city of Phoenix Community Canopy grant – a program sponsored by the Office of Heat Response and Mitigation.
The association’s mission is to “open communication to build community, educate residents and increase pride of residency,” and throughout the grant process, longtime Westown resident Laura Harper put that mission into action. She served as the tree grant coordinator and from city and neighborhood meetings to posting flyers and coordinating the various planting schedules to organizing a Jan. 17 celebration, she and other neighborhood volunteers spent months on the project…