Community Projects You Can Do - Get Involved!

I've been kicking around a couple of project ideas after I finally move, to help embed myself in the new neighborhood, which is always difficult to do in WNY.  Took me 8 years to re-embed myself after leaving for 6 years, and returning to the same neighborhood.

First and foremost, the family has decided to take advantage of the large yard, and start "urban farming" there.  We want to start with a single raised bed, and maybe a chicken or two, and then work up.  That's not the community part, though.  The community part is converting our front yard to another raised bed, for use by our neighbors.  You can do this too!  A single bed, with maybe some tomatoes or cucumbers (Something moderately easy to grow and harvest), then hang a sign on the bed "Take what you need, no more.  Thank you to all of our neighbors!" or such.  You'll be surprised at how many new friends you'll make, and in the process, strengthen the fabric of your neighborhood.  So, that's our first step.

Now, the first one is going to take a while to get into action (At least one growing season).  In the interim, I plan on putting up a small community radio station, broadcasting news, alerts, etc on a Part 15 transmitter.  Most people think "Part 15?  Meh. You can only get a few feet!"  Well, I've got some radio know-how, and I know how to get it a bit further.  I think this will be a nice way of giving a service to my neighborhood as well, and to help keep them informed of the goings-on here.  This isn't a difficult project either, and anyone with an attic can do it as well.  A little research on the internet will point you to the right direction on how to start.

Another idea, albeit this one is not for the faint of heart, is public wifi.  I do not recommend this for anyone unless they know how to secure it, while allowing public access, though.  I would also try to find a couple of people to help.  It can become a full time job, very quickly.  You can start here to learn a bit more if this sounds interesting.

Most of these are small projects that one person can take on.  All of them help to bind the community together somehow.  This is key to strengthening our city, by building our communities back into rock-solid structures, instead of being subject to the whims of City Hall.