Landscaping blitz transforms Interfaith complex
Hundreds of volunteers working through the weekend have transformed an unattractive outdoor gathering place off Aster Street in Escondido into a bright, warm space.
Interfaith Community Services owns 18 buildings along Aster south of Washington Avenue where formerly homeless families with children live as they transition into society. For years, an outdoor space at the end of the block, sandwiched between three of the buildings, has been used for community gatherings.
After this past weekend’s landscaping blitz, it looks nothing like it did before.
To complete the project, Interfaith partnered with a new group called Sustainable Heroes, which brings people together from all over the country to do landscaping work for charity. This was the group’s third project.
Led by Ahmed Hassan — who at one time was the host of the DIY Network’s garden makeover show “Yard Crashers” — the heroes came to Escondido and went to work using mostly donated materials and equipment.
Hassan said he was approached months ago by an old friend who works for Interfaith who convinced him the project was worthy.
“Let’s give the people a better space,” Hassan said he thought to himself. “Let’s give them a nicer space and something they can be proud of. And let’s do something for (Interfaith), which does so much for other people.”
Using donated tractors, the dying grass in the area was scraped bare on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, crews worked feverishly to transform the area into what Interfaith Executive Director Greg Anglea called “a botanical garden theme park.”
Dozens of Interfaith members helped out, as did current and past residents of the housing complex, which also caters to veterans, seniors and the mentally ill.
“We create a community here of people to improve their lives and we’ve done a lot of that here,” said Anglea to Hassan. “But what you’ve created here takes that to a whole other level.”
Volunteers with Sustainable Heroes came from as far away as Georgia, New Jersey and Northern California to participate. Businesses and companies were approached and gave freely: $18,000 of synthetic turf, $20,000 worth of plants. Wood and bricks and gravel and more.
“If you had to pay a contractor, a company to do this, to design it, to plan it to execute it… I’d say it would have cost about $250,000,” Hassan said. “We literally planted a jungle.”
During a small unveiling ceremony Monday, several children swung on the newly refurbished playground equipment. Below their feet was new rubber mulch. Included in the landscaping is a fire pit and eight garden boxes where residents can grow vegetables.
Anglea said volunteers are the backbone of Interfaith and all of the buildings have been refurbished and worked on by groups over the years. But never had such a dramatic change taken shape so quickly.
“I’ve never seen any project like this before,” he told Hassan. “It’s absolutely mind blowing. What you’ve all done is amazing.”
