[CCMG-Announce] CCMG Special Announcement - Idea Garden Accessibility Project

[Day, Deborah M]

Fabulous news! Congratulations to all who worked diligently for so many years to make this happen.


Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone


-------- Original message --------
From: Ava Heap
Date:09/07/2016 11:04 AM (GMT-06:00)
To: ccmg-announce at lists.communitylists.org
Subject: [CCMG-Announce] CCMG Special Announcement - Idea Garden Accessibility Project


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Dear Champaign County Master Gardeners –

I am thrilled to share some exceptional news regarding the Idea Garden Accessibility Project. After 7 years of planning, partnering with community organizations, the University of Illinois Extension Champaign County Education Foundation as well as the University of Illinois construction is set to begin next Monday, September 12.

Horticulture Education Sandy Mason and County Director Ginger Boas met with the hired contractor and the Facilities and Services Coordinators to review and confirm plans. The project is predicted to take 6 weeks. This means that there will be limited access to the Idea Garden starting September 12 till the end of October. Mainly, during the project everyone will have to park in the street and the gate will not be accessible. We want to assure that the construction crew has optimal working space and we don’t impede their work.

In regards to the maintenance of the garden, we are fortunate that construction is occurring during the end of the season. While the garden typically still looks stunning till mid-October, with construction occurring, visitor access will be restricted and the public will understand if the garden is not up to its usual beauty.

If you are unaware of what plans are intended for the Idea Garden, let me take a moment to clarify. Once construction is complete, there will be 2 handicap-accessible parking spaces and 2 standard issued spaces. All spaces will be metered parking. In addition to parking, there will be a concrete sidewalk framing the exterior of the garden allowing visitors complete access to the garden that was otherwise limited.

Other items of interest:

  *   The current paver edging surrounding the exterior of the garden will be removed and recycled.
  *   The water is not set to be turned off until the usual end of season, unless there is a problem.

If you have any pressing questions, please address them to Sandy Mason (slmason at illinois.edu<mailto:slmason at illinois.edu>) and Ginger Boas (gboas at illinois.edu<mailto:gboas at illinois.edu>) as they will have biweekly meetings about the project. Please do not directly ask questions to the construction crew or campus.

Thank you all for being patient and enduring the waiting period with us. This project will expand our visitors to the Idea Garden and increase our ability to educate and inspire. But most importantly, I hope you all know that without you, Master Garden volunteers, this construction, the Idea Garden and the Champaign County Master Gardeners as a whole would not be in existence. Thank you for your passion, service and love of helping others learn to grow.

Sincerely,







Ava Heap

Program Coordinator, Horticulture

University of Illinois Extension, Unit 13

Champaign County

801 N. Country Fair Drive, Suite D

Champaign, IL  61821

carmien2 at illinois.edu<mailto:carmien2 at illinois.edu>

217-333-7672

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