08/29 Saturday cleanup and training, plus our ratified mission statement

[Friends of St. Johns Pl]

Hi neighbors,

This Saturday, Sophia, Lydia, and Carol will be cleaning up the block from 8am to 9am. Please join them in cleaning up! Afterward, they are heading to a Super Steward certification training by our friends at @bjhgardenclub from 10am to 12pm. If you are interested in getting certified as a Super Steward too, you can find the details here. 

Also, check out our native/pollinator-friendly plant tree bed planting guide on our website. These plants are specifically safe to plant around trees and don't steal resources from already stressed out street trees. This will help guide us in the upcoming months. 

We also wanted to share that a few of us got together to finalize our mission statement and process. Here it is in full and you can also read it on our website. 

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Mission

Founded in Spring 2026, Friends of St. Johns Place is a volunteer-run collective of neighbors on St. Johns Place between Underhill and Washington Avenues. First and foremost, we are a block beautification and gardening group with a mission to brighten and green our block, while bringing neighbors together.

Our Goals

* Conservation: Protect the trees and plants on this block so that they can thrive. We will focus on planting natives approximately 80% of the time.
* Beauty: Beautify the street with plants and other decorations.
* Litter: Change the habits around litter by cleaning the street. A cleaner street tells people we care about the block's surroundings.
* Dog waste: Change habits around picking up dog waste and make it easier for folks to do so.
* Education: Educate community members to learn how to take care of our trees and the benefits of native plants and pollinators.
* Community: Foster community around gardening and encourage block members to interact and get to know each other to forge lasting bonds.
* Improvements: Advocate for collective block improvements that benefit everyone and help beautify our street, i.e. rat training, street light petition.

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If you would like to become an organizer, the best way is to get certified as a super steward, keep coming to our events, and let an event lead know you are interested.

Thank you for everything you all do for the neighborhood.

Best,
Rabia with Friends of St Johns Pl