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Who wants a playhouse?

April 24, 2012 by Katie


You are invited to attend special events celebrating Habitat for
Humanity-DeKalb’s Playhouse Build & Auction sponsored by
Arlene Dean Quality Homes, United Healthcare and Lowe’s!
The Playhouse Build & Auction is an annual benefit bringing teams
in the community together to build unique playhouses in support of
Habitat for Humanity-DeKalb. We invite you to come see this year’s fun
and whimsical collection of playhouses while they are on display on the
Plaza at Decatur Square, April 21-29.

Tuesday, April 24th:
Come out this evening to the Playhouse Viewing Reception on Decatur Square, 6:00-8:00 pm
Refreshments served and children are welcome to come & play in the
playhouses.
Bid, Buy, or Donate online at www.DeKalbHabitat.org
All proceeds from this event support the mission of Habitat for
Humanity-DeKalb: Building, Renovating and Revitalizing homes
for low income families in DeKalb County.

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Buy Your Tickets for The Decatur Garden Tour

April 24, 2012 by Catherine

Decatur Garden Tour
Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May 6
Featuring 13 public and private Decatur gardens
Tickets: $20 in advance and $25 the weekend of the tour

Buy your tickets at one of these three locations:
Intown Ace Hardware
The Seventeen Steps
DecaturGardenTour.com

A ticket is good all weekend, plus one garden will be open Saturday evening, 7-9 p.m., for refreshments and entertainment.

All proceeds from the tour benefit the Wylde Center – formerly the Oakhurst Community  Garden Project.

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Severe Weather Preparedness Week

April 23, 2012 by Meredith

Yesterday marked the start of the first ever National Severe Weather Preparedness Week. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently partnered to designate April 22-28, 2012, as National Severe Weather Preparedness Week, and is calling upon all Americans, in every area of the country, to Be a Force of Nature.

Because we live in an area prone to tornadoes, flash floods and severe thunderstorms, the recent severe weather and tornado outbreaks reminded us that this weather can strike anywhere and at any time. Just last year, there were more than 1,000 weather-related fatalities and more than 8,000 injuries.

Knowing your risk, taking action and being an example by sharing your knowledge and actions with your social network are just a few steps you can take to be better prepared and assist in saving lives.

Information on the different types of severe weather such as tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flooding is available at www.weather.gov and www.ready.gov/severeweather. You can also learn more about what we’re doing in the City of Decatur by checking out the Emergency Management insert in the November edition of the Decatur Focus.

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Join the Earth Day Parade this Sunday!

April 19, 2012 by Lena

The Wylde Center/Oakhurst Community Garden and City of Decatur are teaming up to bring you another great Earth Day celebration this Sunday, April 22.

Help kick things off by joining the parade!

Parade Start: 12:30pm Harmony Park, Oakhurst

Line Up: Begins at noon

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The Earth Day Parade starts at 12:30 p.m. in Harmony Park in the center of the Oakhurst Business District and ends at the Oakhurst Community Garden. Line up will begin at noon.

Join the Black Sheep Ensemble and decorate your bike, wagon, stroller or yourself!  The 2011 parade had a great turnout, and we think we can top it this year.  Agnes Scott students will be walking with a 4ft tall Scottie dog made of chicken wire and filled with recycling, and we hope to see Team Chicken again (pictured above).

The celebration kicks off at 1pm when the parade reaches the garden.  We have an exciting array of events planned for children, youth and adults including:

  • Kids Crafts
  • Music
  • A Live Raptor Show! (need we say more!)
  • Special Earth Day T-shirt contest
  • Checkin’ out the resident Chicks and Bees in the Garden
  • World Famous Cake Contest
  • And MORE!

Check out the event website for more details.  If you have any questions about the parade please contact:

Email: lena.stevens@decaturga.com

Phone: 678-553-6577

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Weekend Round Up

April 18, 2012 by Katie


Decatur will be buzzing with activity this weekend so start making your plans now to come out and enjoy the beautiful Spring weather!

Start off your Saturday morning by doing a little shopping at the Decatur Farmers Market and then head on over to the most anticipated event of the year…Touch-a-Truck! (see details here)

The Wylde Center (formerly the Oakhurst Community Garden Project) still has plenty of plants left after their annual sale last weekend, so it isn’t too late to bring home some beautiful fruits and veggies to plant.

Visit Worthmore this weekend and help Celebrate Earth Day. They’ll be making a donation from each sale on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to Reaping Nature Educational Outreach Foundation to help their environmental education efforts.

Come out and celebrate Earth Day in Oakhurst on Sunday at the Wylde Center from 1-4pm. The celebration will kick off with a parade that will go from Harmony Park to the Community Garden site, beginning at 12:30 pm. We have an exciting array of events planned for children, youth and adults and include Kids Crafts, music, a live raptor show,
a Special Earth Day T-shirt contest, and the Famous Cake Contest.

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Coming soon to Decatur…

April 18, 2012 by Katie

Posted in Events | Leave a Comment »

Open House on Environmental Sustainability Plan

April 17, 2012 by Lena

WHEN: Wednesday, April 18th – drop by between 7 and 8:30 p.m.

WHERE: City Hall, City Commission Meeting Room

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The current members of the Environmental Sustainability Board

As you may be aware, in response to Decatur’s 2010 Ten Year Strategic Plan, the Environmental Sustainability Board, City staff and volunteers have developed a draft Environmental Sustainability Plan.

The first draft of the plan was shared with the public at an open house held in November. Since then, we have provided several venues for the public to review and provide comment on the overall plan as well as specific issues. We are in the process of finalizing an updated draft that incorporates feedback we have received to date.

The plan, which targets issues and concerns which came of out of the larger strategic planning effort, is designed to serve as a guide for current and future decision makers, city employees, residents, business owners and others.

We invite you to review this updated plan at another open house on Wednesday, April 18th from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the City Commission room at City Hall. Please note, the updated draft is available for review on City’s website at www.decaturga.com/sustainabilityplan.

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Unable to attend Open House? Provide feedback with our online comment form.
If you are not able to attend the meeting, you can complete an online comment form available at www.decaturga.com/sustainabilityplan.  The form will be available through May 1st.

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Your feedback is important!
Any themes or key issues that arise from the feedback received for this new draft — both from the online comments and the Open House — will be incorporated into the final plan that is slated to be presented to the City Commission in May.

Printed copies are available by contacting the City’s Resource Conservation Coordinator Lena Stevens at lena.stevens@decaturga.com or via telephone at 404-370-4102. You may e-mail comments directly to Lena as well.

We hope to see you at the open house!  If you have any questions contact:

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Lena Stevens
Resource Conservation Coordinator
lena.stevens@decaturga.com
404-370-4102


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Congratulations 2012 Decatur 101 Graduates

April 16, 2012 by Linda

Congratulations Decatur 101 graduates!  The 2012 classes had a total of 70 participants who completed the 5-week class – 34 in the morning class and 36 in the evening class.  Decatur now has a total of 721 Decatur 101 graduates overall.

Participants toured city buildings, learned how each department works and what they do, decided how they would spend a city tax dollar, participated in a mock planning commission meeting, learned some of Decatur’s history from Walt Drake, heard from a variety of non-profit organizations about how they can get involved in the community, took a Smart Growth Walking Tour, completed a citywide scavenger hunt, had a Q&A with the Decatur City Commission, and more.

One participant said, “This program made me a better informed and educated resident…but even more, it gave me a real sense of pride and connection to my community.”  Another noted, “We are recommending this course to all our neighbors…you have developed a unique way to inform our community…it makes us proud to be a part of Decatur.”

Look for all of these informed folks to get involved in the community and ask them about their experience!  If you are interested in the 2013 classes, sign up today – we usually have a waiting list.  Email linda.harris@decaturga.com for details.

Posted in Community, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Decatur's Kitchen Garden Turns 3 Weeks Old

April 6, 2012 by Lena

Mayor Bill Floyd cutting the ribbon for Decatur's Kitchen Garden on March 14, 2012.

Decatur’s Kitchen Garden, located at the United Methodist Children’s Home, broke ground on March 14, 2012. With the help of some dedicated partners and volunteers, amazing progress has been made in only 3 weeks!

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Gerry Knotts, Decatur Grounds Supervisor, helping to prepare the garden for planting.

“Gerry Knotts and the rest of the Decatur Public Works crew did an amazing job with those machines! They created swales to capture and manage water, tilled up the annual beds, and secured & deposited compost and wood chips through out. It was a lot of work, and it’s deeply appreciated,” said Susan Pavlin of the Global Grower’s Network.

The design for the paths and beds of the garden, developed by Edible Yard & Garden, is an adaptation of a pattern called ‘Keyline Design.’  Using the contours of the land, the design will have the effect of completely stopping rainwater runoff and erosion and distribute rainwater throughout the land passively.  Strips of fruit trees and perennial vegetation capture runoff nutrients and allow them to be recycled back into the annual vegetable beds, as well as providing many kinds of fruits, culinary and medicinal herbs, and perennial vegetables.  For more information on Keyline Design, visit the Edible Yard & Garden website.

This market garden was created as a partnership with the United Methodist Children’s Home, Oakhurst Community Garden Project, and Edible Yard & Garden, with support from the City of Decatur and DeKalb County Board of Health.

Want to Volunteer?

Global Growers Network needs volunteers to help with our Seed Starter event. We are creating seed packets, that when distributed to our producers, will supplement their seed collections in preparation for growing crops this Summer. We need people to help weigh, package and label seed packets that we will distribute.

Join us on these dates:

Monday, April 9 from 4-6pm

Tuesday, April 10 from 1-6pm

Wednesday, April 11 from 3-6pm

Friday, April 13 from 3-6pm

Location: Bamboo Creek Farm, 1763 Big Valley Way, Stone Mountain, GA 30083

Please contact Angela at angela@globalgrowers.net or (404) 907-0133 and let her know you would like to volunteer.

Posted in Community, Sustainability | Leave a Comment »

Budget Gathering at Kavarna

April 3, 2012 by Meredith

The City of Decatur is hosting another Community Budget Gathering on Tuesday, April 10th from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Kavarna, 707B East Lake Drive. Join Assistant City Manager Andrea Arnold and others interested in learning about the city’s budget process.

This is your chance to find out how the budget process works and give your input. This is the second of three meetings using this new format. The third meeting will be at City Hall in May. Click here to find the current 2011-2012 budget.

Space is limited so sign up today with Andrea Arnold, andrea.arnold@decaturga.com or call 404-370-4102.

Posted in Budget | 1 Comment »

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