Historic Santa Fe: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park Project by Sofia Horn

October 21, 2021

I did this project to work on my Girl Scout Gold Award Project initially, but during the planting at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park, I knew it was much more than a badge. It was bringing community together, and helping the environment.

For a Girl Scout Gold Award, a girl has to spend 80 hours on a project she organizes and leads. I spent that time finding the perfect place to improve with plants, planning out where all of the trees and shrubs needed to go, asking for donations from nurseries and Lowe's. It was a long journey, but the day to plant finally came on September 25th. There were neighbors that showed up, my friends, family, arborists, horticulturalists, the mayor, and two city Councilors (Carol Romero-Wirth and Jamie Cassutt).

We planted two big bur Oaks and a lot of small pollinator plants donated by the Xerces Society through a grant to connect the city on a pollinator trial. In total there were 105 plants planted including trees, shrubs, and cacti. I plan to plant some roses in the front of the park as well because Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s wife really liked roses, and I also plan to put some yucca and other succulents on the other side of the park. I will build and place a native bee hive at the park so all of the pollinators have a place to live during the winter when the flowers are not in bloom.

During the process, I wanted to get input from the neighbors who lived in the area, so I held a public meeting at the park. I drew up a plan to get an understanding of what the park would look like and I talked with a horticulturalist to get his opinion on where the plants should be placed. Then my mother and I went out to the park to place flags where each plant would be placed so it would be easy to see on planting day.

I wanted to do this project because I love plants, I wanted to help the community, and planting pollinator shrubs is beneficial to bees and butterflies.