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Teens To Build Community Garden at Clinton Hill Library

 Neighborhood teens will be building a garden at the Clinton Hill Library after the branch received $2,100 in funding from the Brooklyn Public Library's Bklyn Incubator initiative.
Neighborhood teens will be building a garden at the Clinton Hill Library after the branch received $2,100 in funding from the Brooklyn Public Library's Bklyn Incubator initiative.
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DNAinfo/Janet Upadhye

CLINTON HILL — A new garden will be sprouting up at the Clinton Hill library next month.

Neighborhood teenagers will start building the garden and planting seeds mid-April at the branch at 380 Washington Ave. after it received $2,100 in funding from the Brooklyn Public Library’s “Bklyn Incubator” initiative

The library has already started working with local teens to choose which plants to grow at the garden, which will be located by the benches in the front of the building.

“They were interested in flowers and some of them wanted blackberries, which we may or may not be able to do, but we may try to do something with fruit,” said Young Adult Librarian Meredith Powers.

She said the branch was looking at growing “sensory plants” that might have an interesting texture or a strong smell. 

Aside from getting a taste for horticulture, teens will also get a chance to work on a number of robotics and arts projects, including building water sensors for the plants and making mosaic paving stones for the garden, Powers said.

Once the garden is set up, which should be around June, the library will host activities for children of all ages, like terrarium classes and story time in the garden, according to Powers.

The branch will be working with P.S./M.S. 492 Academy of Arts and Letters to recruit teen gardeners that can maintain the garden, as well as other local schools and summer camps. 

The garden at the Clinton Hill branch, an idea designed by branch librarians, was one of six projects to win funding from the Bklyn Incubator initiative.

Facebook users were able to vote on their favorites out of 26 proposed programs at libraries across Brooklyn by liking the project pages.

Powers, who is heading the program, said she hopes this project will give teens a greater sense of belonging at the library.

“Since they’ll be helping to design and plant the the garden, it should them a sense of ownership,” Powers said. “They can see the garden and say, ‘I’ve done something for the community.’”

To see the full list of new BPL programs under the Bklyn Incubator initiative, click here.