Chapter 4: Mariposa

“IF YOU’VE NEVER EXPERIENCED THE JOY OF ACCOMPLISHING MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE, PLANT A GARDEN.”

– ROBERT BREAULT

Nature cyanotype in the making - Community Offering August 31st, 2024

August and September were months of moving forward, with the goal of finishing the accessible pathways. Due to the nature of the soil in the lots where The Wellness Garden is located - properties that used to be a parking lot and that are filled with concrete and debris - the quickest and more cost-effective option at the time was to build the pathways directly on top of the ground floor. 

Honoring the winding and organic style of the original design, 400 linear feet of metal edging were installed. The pathways would connect Colerain avenue and Henshaw avenue, while at the same time guiding pedestrians through Chris Pohlar's art installation, elevating Curtis Davis' sculpture, and connecting the Labyrinth.

Layout for the Garden's pathways - August 2024

It is worth noting that for this part of the implementation, we obtained a generous sponsorship from Ron Houck and David Nebel, who trusted this vision from the very beginning. The Well also supported the purchase of gravel, alongside with some individual donors. As I mentioned in the last chapter, nothing was done by oneself and nothing was done with no effort. I am extremely grateful for those people who made donations to this project.

Edging installed + fabric istalling in process - September 2024

For the purpose of setting up the pathway and get it ready for the final volunteer day, I counted with the help of my friend Wesley Ericson, who graciously spent a whole day installing edging and fabric under a killing sun. Friend and mentor for this project, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful's Alistair Probst, made mounds of gravel inside the pathways for hours. Finally, on a Saturday morning in September, the pathways were created.

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

- Winston Churchill

Local herbalist Meghan Henshaw, owner of Ocotillo Herbals, sampling tea. July 2024

Meanwhile, The Garden had already been activated by free and open to all Community Offerings. In total, between June and September, The Well supported 7 Community Offerings that enganged close to 100 participants in different modalities, featuring local experts in a variety of disciplines, including musicians, visual artists, herbalists, and performers.

It was important that The Garden was activated, lived, experienced. The Wellness Garden is made by and for the community of Camp Washington and beyond. In a neighborhood where greenspaces are scarce and trees do not abound, an urban green corridor that functioned as a place to be in nature and take rest was an essential need.

This also includes other species beyond humans: while the Community Offerings brought humans back to that patch of land, the Labyrinth flourishing brought back the reptiles, insects and other pollinators - and brought them to stay.

A Monarch butterfly observed in the Labyrinth - October 2024

“Let us not forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of humanity.”

– Daniel Webster

From the moment of its inception to the event that sealed this first phase of The Wellness Garden, over $10,000 were raised and utilized to bring this project to life. Aside from the protagonic role of The Well and their staff, organizations such as Wavepool, University of Cincinnati, and the National Endowment for the Arts played an important role in moving this project forward. Private individual donors played an essential part in fundraising as well.

To close the pathways chapter, on September 8th a group of about 10 volunteers gathered to shovel, rake, and compressed gravel. The pathways were succesfully finished, being mostly ADA accessible. The pathways are about 200 feet in length and 5 feet wide at any given section. 

Robin Klebau helping with the sign - September 2024.

The manpower utilized for a project of this scale is equivalent to hundreds of hours, that over 40 volunteers gifted during the several volunteer days that were hosted between June and September. This project would not have been possible without them.

The first volunteer day: building the Labyrinth - June 2024

The last volunteer day: building the pathways - Sep[tember 2024

On September 21st, we celebrated everything that was accomplished with a celebration that we called The Harvest. A group of 4 friends plus myself cooked over 100 empanadas for the people; there was live music and artmaking. Since then, The Wellness Garden has become a space that is constantly activated by the communities it serves, both human and beyond.

Detail of the Labyrinth - October 2024

On October 12th Camp Washington celebrated the neighborhood's art and community with their annual event Made in Camp. The Wellness Garden hosted a workshop on botanical watercolors by local artist Devan Horton and was the site for a dance performance by Megan Flynn Dance Company. To me, this was the perfect time to acknowledge the work done collectively for 6 months. Seeing people of all ages engaging in different parts of The Wellness Garden in a beautiful Fall day brought tears to my eyes. The work had worked.

There is power in organizations teaming up with artists to create public work that cares for the people. There is power in artists teaming up with communities to respond to specific needs in creative ways. The Wellness Garden is for me still a work in progress; but in that it's a good one. And we will keep building.

Artist Devan Horton presenting botanical watercolors - October 2024

Monarch butterflies are mighty beings revered in several traditions as a symbol of Transformation and Strength in adversity. After becoming be stunning creatures they are, Monarch butterflies travel thousands of miles during its migration period using their own internal compass to determine what direction to go.

A few weeks after Made in Camp I returned to the Garden, just to find a beautiful Monarch butterfly feeding off the flowers. She was accompanied by a plethora of other insects, including bees and dragonflies. It made me think about this project and how far we have come together - and hope that we will continue. And with that, life itself. I hope I will see you next Spring, to keep building together.

Julia Orquera Bianco, Artist and Ecologist. November 2024.

The Wellness Garden last design map - June 2024