(Drum Roll Please) Announcing the 2012 Tree Nursery Lineup!

Post and photos (except where credited otherwise) by Jeff Skrenes, Hawthorne Neighborhood Council Housing Director.

The Hawthorne EcoVillage tree nursery has received a shipment of thirty trees for 2012.  We have ten Ironwood trees, ten Fall Fiesta Maple trees, and ten Bur Oak trees.  These are free for anyone who owns property (or renters who have permission from property owners) in north Minneapolis.  They are available on a first come, first served basis.  The cat in the photo above has first dibs though.

The EcoVillage tree nursery is located at 404 31st Avenue North, and trees will be available for their first round of distribution on Saturday June 2nd, 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon.  For more information, please feel free to contact the Hawthorne Neighborhood Council office at 612-529-6033 x204 or jskrenes@hawthorneneighborhoodcouncil.org.

Our partners at Tree Trust have put together a handy little sheet that shows pictures of the trees they have available, including the three kinds in the EcoVillage.  And like last year, I'm including a photo of what the trees look like in the nursery along with a photo of what they will look like when they are mature.

Ironwood in the nursery

A more mature Ironwood tree, photo from the city of Blaine.

The Fall Fiesta Sugar Maple in the nursery.

The above sugar maple showing why it's called a Fall Fiesta.  Photo from Knecht's Nursery.

The Bur Oak in the nursery

A mature Bur Oak, courtesy of Bachmann's.

If you can't make it to the distribution on Saturday, feel free to call the Hawthorne office or email me to schedule a pick-up time, so you can give a tree a new home in north Minneapolis!

EcoVillage Tree Nursery - 47 Trees and Counting

Post and photos by Jeff Skrenes, Hawthorne Neighborhood Council Housing Director.

For the past few years, the Hawthorne Neighborhood Council has distributed free trees throughout north Minneapolis through our tree nursery in the EcoVillage.  Late last week we received this year's shipment - a whopping seventy-nine trees!  Given the damage in NoMi from the tornado, a decision was made to prioritize trees for those who lost one to the storm.

I announced our new shipment of trees at the Hawthorne Huddle and posted another announcement on the Minneapolis Tornado Watch Facebook page.  Word spread like wildfire, and before any standardized method for distributing trees was set up, over thirty trees already found new homes.

In order to try and give people throughout north Minneapolis an equal chance at getting a free tree, we will schedule a time later this week or on the weekend when trees can be picked up on a first-come, first-served basis.  The specifics of that announcement will be coming within the next 24 hours. 

EcoVillage Home Featured on Minneapolis/St. Paul Home Tour!

Post by Jeff Skrenes, Hawthorne Neighborhood Council Housing Director. Video from the Minneapolis Television Network.

The Hartzell family is one of the newest additions to the Hawthorne neighborhood, having purchased the first LEED-certified home in the EcoVillage last fall.  Before they even closed, Mayor Rybak publicly welcomed them to Minneapolis, and now their home is on the Minneapolis/St. Paul Home Tour.  Many new homeowners have been profiled in the NoMi blogosphere, to the point where we pretty much tell people that moving into the EcoVillage makes you a sort of local celebrity.  That was said BEFORE this video was released.

I'd love to gush even more about what a great place Hawthorne, and the EcoVillage is to own a home, but the Hartzells do a great job of that in the video above.  Instead, I'll quickly remind readers that we're building another similar house on the corner of 31st and 6th this summer.  And if you buy a house anywhere in the Hawthorne neighborhood, you'll qualify for $5,000 in down payment assistance money through the Hawthorne Advantage program.

So take a look at the EcoVillage, and let us welcome you to the neighborhood!

PPL Needs EcoVillage Volunteers This Week!

Post by Jeff Skrenes, Hawthorne Neighborhood Council Housing Director, photo contributed by PPL.

PPL Building Project-Hawthorne EcoVillage
Support efforts in North Minneapolis to build and renovate affordable housing for those in need in the community in response to the foreclosure crisis. PPL’s Housing Development dept. is renovating a house at 3023 N. 4th St. as part of the Hawthorne EcoVillage project. Volunteers needed! Construction/carpentry experience welcome but not required.

Where: 3023 N. 4th St., Minneapolis
When: Thursday 11/4, 9-5
Friday 11/5, 9-5
Saturday 11/6, 9-1

Construction experience is welcome but not required. Skilled supervision, tools, materials and snacks provided. Volunteers are asked to bring a bag lunch and work gloves.

For more information or to sign up, please contact Julie Huck, PPL Volunteer Mgr., at 612-455-5111 or email Julie Huck.

Video Footage from Habitat Week Closing Ceremonies

Post and videos by Jeff Skrenes, Hawthorne Neighborhood Council housing director; videos with Jeff Skrenes in them contributed by Habitat staff or volunteers.

With such an extraordinary month, capped off by thousands of volunteers and a visit from  President Carter, Hawthorne still has photos and videos to share from the events of the Habitat week.  Above are several videos from the final day of work.

Former HNC board chair Peter Teachout asked for a statement of his to be read at one of the final events, and I obliged.  Some people have said that the sound quality on that video makes it difficult to hear.  In response, I've posted Peter's speech after the jump.  Peter said...

Hawthorne Neighborhood Honored by the City!

Post and photos by Jeff Skrenes, Hawthorne Neighborhood Council Housing Director.  Videos by Jeff Skrenes except where noted otherwise.

Based on the neighborhood's award-winning success in and around the EcoVillage, and in celebration of Habitat for Humanity's and former President Jimmy Carter's partnership in bringing several new families to our community, the Minneapolis city council recognized the tremendous accomplishments of Hawthorne, PPL, and Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity at today's full council meeting.

Videos are after the jump as well, and the resolution reads...

Video Footage from the EcoVillage Hawthorne Huddle

Agenda for the September Hawthorne Huddle

Mike Christenson greets Valeria (aka "The Polish Lady" at the EcoVillage Groundbreaking

Drive by the house at 400 31st Ave N on your way to the Huddle.  You'll hardly BELIEVE what it looks like now!

Post and photos by Jeff Skrenes, Hawthorne Neighborhood Council Housing Director

HAWTHORNE HUDDLE
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

To: Friends of the Hawthorne Huddle

At this month’s Hawthorne Huddle, we’ll hear about the Hawthorne EcoVillage, a commitment to the community that is both ecologically friendly and economically affordable. The EcoVillage development represents a shared vision among neighborhood residents and leaders, community agencies and the City of Minneapolis. The goal of the project is to create and maintain a neighborhood that is a model of sustainability. Our panelists will tell us about this neighborhood-driven project which will preserve existing homes, build new single family homes, include mixed-income living opportunities, and create a healthy and sustainable urban community. Please join in the discussion about this great collaborative project. We welcome and encourage your input and ideas.

The Hawthorne Huddle will be held from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. in the Multipurpose Room at Farview Park, located at 621 29th Avenue North. A continental breakfast will be available at 7:15 a.m.

A G E N D A
WELCOME Ellen Luger
SAFETY UPDATE Inspector Mike Martin, Minneapolis Police Department 4th Precinct
IDEATION RECAP Jeff Peterson, General Mills Community Action
MAIN PROGRAM TOPIC: ECO VILLAGE
Introduction: The Honorable R. T. Rybak, Mayor of Minneapolis
Panelists:
Diane Hofstede, Council Member, City of Minneapolis
Bev Scherrer, Chair, Hawthorne Neighborhood Council Housing Committee,
Chris Wilson, Director of Real Estate Development, Project for Pride in Living (PPL)
Susan Haigh, President, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity
Andy Barnett, Director, Construction, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity
ADJOURNMENT

Next meeting: Thursday, October 7, 2010

Habitat Spurs Progress in EcoVillage!

Post and photos by Jeff Skrenes Hawthorne Neighborhood Council Housing Director

As we gear up towards the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter visit in October, I strolled through the EcoVillage this week. Pictured above is 430 30th Ave N. When I went by one day, it was a normal vacant lot with a Habitat sign and some markers on it. The following day, ground was being broken here, as well as at 416 30th Ave N. I also had the chance to meet two of the families who will be living at 430 30th and 419 30th. They're wonderful people who will be excellent additions to the neighborhood.







Just south of the EcoVillage boundaries is another Habitat rehab at 2917 6th St N.



And while the new LEED home at 400 31st is a PPL project and not Habitat, it's still coming along nicely. The garage, being worked on in the photo below, is likely complete by now.



Mike Christenson of CPED has been fond of saying, "When things are done in the EcoVillage you're not going to belive it." Well, we're only in the infancy of building anew, and the future is already so bright. Here's what I believe: I believe that in several years, we'll put the finishing touches on this project. And when that happens, we'll tell all the newbies about how rough it was here for a while. When that happens, things will have been so good for so long that THEY'LL be the ones who don't believe us.

EcoVillage LEED House Ready for Showing!

Post by Jeff Skrenes, Hawthorne Neighborhood Council Housing Director. Image contributed by Banneker Realty.

The first new construction of the Hawthorne EcoVillage is ready for sale! For more information on this exciting new home, which is expected to be LEED-certified upon completion, go to its official website. From there, you can contact our excellent listing agents at Banneker Realty. From all the wonderful neighbors in Hawthorne, welcome to the EcoVillage!

Hawthorne Receives Neighborhood Revitalization Award from MetLife!

Post and photos (except where noted otherwise) by Jeff Skrenes, Hawthorne Neighborhood Council Housing Director

Upon my return from a vacation in Tanzania, the very first work email I opened up gave me this tremendous news. The Hawthorne Neighborhood Council, in conjunction with many of our EcoVillage partners, received a Neighborhood Revitalization award from the MetLife Foundation. There were 720 applicants from across the country this year, and eleven were chosen as recipients. Hawthorne and our partners are proud of and grateful for this honor.

The difficulties and accomplishments in the EcoVillage have been documented by the USA Today, National and local Public Radio, in the Star Tribune, and even some odd ones, like a Japanese television station, and al-Jazeera. But the story of the EcoVillage has been most extensively detailed on a blog belonging to Hawthorne board member John Hoff.

We started with an area besieged by foreclosures and vacancies well before the housing crisis hit. Drug dealing and prostitution were so rampant on the corner of 31st Ave N and 6th St N that many drivers did not even come to a complete stop at the four-way stop sign. But EcoVillage and Hawthorne residents were vigilant, calling 911 incessantly and getting the attention of many at the city of Minneapolis who would be crucial in this fight against blight.

Hawthorne, the Northside Home Fund, and PPL sat down in the HNC office with just about every city department that deals with livability issues. We went house by house, issue by issue, and assigned tasks to various people and departments. As Inspector Mike Martin said, "Everybody did exactly what they were supposed to do. Even the bad guys went away."

There was pushback, as former board chair Peter Teachout had his truck set on fire, and a known drug dealer was suspected of arson at a property he lost to foreclosure. That house, and others, had to be demolished.



We worked at it.

Contributed photo above

And we celebrated, often with Polish sausage from EcoVillage resident Anders Golebiowski.



But our work is not nearly done. We are building our first new LEED-certified home.



President Carter is coming to the EcoVillage in October, and we need plenty of volunteers before then to pave the way. Mike Christenson of CPED said that the turnaround in this neighborhood happened faster than he's ever seen. Hawthorne owes a debt of gratitude to our partners in this venture, as we know that the momentum will keep us on this path to revitalization.

A formal presentation of the award from MetLife is being planned, and will be announced soon on the Hawthorne Voices blog.

EcoVillage Tree Nursery Open to All of NoMi!

Post and photos by Jeff Skrenes, Hawthorne Neighborhood Council Housing Director

Several weeks ago, the EcoVillage Tree Nursery received a new supply of trees, and I received a fresh supply of Polish sausage for my efforts. The sausage didn't last long at all, but many trees are still there. Pictured above are the first two non-Hawthornites to pick up their trees this summer. Parts of this post originally appeared on the Johnny Northside blog. However, on Hawthorne Voices, we will detail which trees, and how many, are left.

Initially, the trees were reserved for Hawthorne residents only. The reason being that Hawthorne residents and members have been the ones working on the EcoVillage, and some neighborhood funding has been used for this project. So our neighbors should get some benefit from that.

There are still quite a few nice trees left though, and if you want one, here's how it works.

First, in order to qualify, you must be a property owner who lives in north Minneapolis. If demand is high, preference will be given to owner-occupants, but for now any property owner is eligible. Second, and this is important: even though the trees are free, DO NOT JUST GO AND PICK ONE UP. The city of Minneapolis wants to track where these trees go, and if they survive at similar rates to other parts of the city.

So if you want a tree, please call the Hawthorne office at 612-529-6033 or email me at jskrenes@hawthorneneighborhoodcouncil.org to set up a time for a pick-up. The nursery is not secured, so we're going on the honor system here. We'll need to get the address where the tree will be planted, as well as contact information.

Also, as you can see from the photo above, you'll need either a pickup truck or a van/SUV with a window that can be opened. Or a wheelbarrow. I've seen people cart their trees away in those too. But trees are available to any NoMi resident! Come and get 'em!

Pictured above is the Burgundy Belle Maple (click for an image of what a mature one looks like). There are three of those trees currently available.

Below is a Regal Prince Oak. There are three of those left as well. However, two of the three have red ribbons around them. Those weren't there before, so it may be that one of the EcoVillage or other community partners has reserved them. Please do not take trees with a red ribbon until this has been clarified.




Here we have a Greenspire Linden. There are eight Greenspire trees available.




There are fourteen Redmond Linden trees in the nursery, but two are marked with a red ribbon and may therefore be reserved already.




There are four Kentucky Coffeetrees still in the nursery as well.




We have one Accolade Elm left.




And there is one Swamp White Oak still available.




Call the Hawthorne office at 612-529-6033 to set up a time to pick up your new tree!

Hawthorne EcoVillage to Break Ground!

Post written by Jeff Skrenes

On Thursday January 7, 2010, the Hawthorne EcoVillage will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking on its first new construction! Hawthorne residents realized early on that it would take a "pioneering spirit" to bring people into the neighborhood in light of many of the challenges we faced. Well before "green" became a buzzword in the housing industry, Hawthorne community members decided to build off of that pioneering spirit by setting a goal that the EcoVillage development would be among the first LEED-certified projects in the nation.

With a $500,000 grant from the Home Depot Foundation, cluster status designation from the Northside Home Fund, the help of many partners listed above, and the vision and dedication of our neighborhood, the EcoVillage has already made a significant difference in the community. Valeria Golebiowski, a resident for over 43 years, had struggled with the rampant crime, foreclosures, squatters, and problem properties in the area and at one point was close to selling her home as a result. Thanks to the strides made through this development, her commitment to the neighborhood has redoubled. "If not for the EcoVillage, I'd be leaving," she said.

Come join us on Thursday, January 7, 2:30 p.m. for a brief groundbreaking ceremony at 400 31st Ave N, the site of the first new construction unit of the EcoVillage. We know it's cold, so a reception will follow at Farview Park nearby. A heartfelt thanks goes out to all of our residents and partners for making this day possible!