Connection
QUARTERLY
URBAN FARMING AT UPTOWN OUR FARMER IN RESIDENCE KEEPS IT FRESH
WILSON PARK IS FOR THE BIRDS RESIDENTS WORK TO CREATE WILDLIFE HABITAT
TRASH TO TREASURE RECYCLING THE UN-RECYCLABLES
SUMMER YOGA SERIES FREE OUTDOOR YOGA ALL SEASON
A NEWSLETTER FOR MEMBERS OF SPECIALIZED REAL ESTATE GROUP COMMUNITIES
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Spring is springing, and we're bursting with opportunities to connect with neighbors! This issue of Connection is jam-packed with ways to embrace nature and get moving together. Inside, we meet neighbors at Wilson Park Apartments who are working to make the landscape more hospitable to birds and butterflies. Uptown's Farmer-in-Residence gives us the inside scoop on that community's new urban farm. We also have an exciting announcement about a new recycling partnership. And it's time to mark your calendars for our summer yoga series - ten outdoor classes that are totally free for residents of Specialized communities - all you have to do is sign up! Be sure to check out our community events section, and don't forget the Moving Together Challenge, which pays your registration fees for a race, ride, or run. Make the most of this green and growing season, neighbors!
— Specialized Real Estate Group
On the Cover: Uptown Fayetteville's Farmer-in-Residence Ryan Boswell cultivates produce and community at the Uptown Urban Farm. This page: Abundant salad greens are just a few of the veggies and fruits at the Uptown Urban Farm. Photos by Joshua Duke 2• SPECIALIZED REAL ESTATE GROUP
OUTDOOR SUMMER YOGA WITH TRAILSIDE YOGA Warm weather means outdoor yoga with our friends from Trailside Yoga! This year, we’ve teamed up to present an expanded season of classes which are FREE for all residents of Specialized communities! Classes include an hour of yoga, sometimes with a live DJ, followed with a pool party. All you need to do is register with your community manager in advance. Friends can attend for $20 a class— register at trailsideyoga.com. Poolside at Uptown with Lucus DeBuhr Sundays at 9:00am May 20 • June 10 • July 15 August 19 • September 23
Photo by Jacob Halbert
Rooftop at Eco Modern Flats with Danielle Ribaudo & Ashleigh Rose Sundays at noon May 20 • June 24 • July 22 August 26 • Sept 16
URBAN FARM AT UPTOWN SPRINGS TO LIFE Farmer-in-residence Ryan Boswell has been carefully tending the Uptown Fayetteville Urban Farm over winter. Ryan tells us that despite the erratic weather, the garden is overflowing with lettuce, arugula, tatsoi, mizuna, green beans, bachelor buttons, onions, broccoli, kale, rainbow chard, carrots, spinach, comfrey, oregano, cilantro, rosemary, and parsley. The ground surrounding the garden fence was planted with two different mixes of wildflowers — one designed to attract beneficial insects into the garden and one designed to provide good nectar and pollen sources for honeybees and other pollinators. Coming soon: a weekend farmstand for Uptown neighbors and a beehive! Photo by Joshua Duke
CONNECTION QUARTERLY: SPRING 2018 • 3
LIVING HARMONIOUSLY STEPHANIE FARMER & WILSON PARK APARTMENTS
b� Emalie Cockrell When Stephanie and Kyle Farmer moved back to Fayetteville last summer, they knew they wanted to live at Wilson Park Apartments. “The community garden was the selling point for us,” Stephanie says. “It honestly felt kind of magical to find this place. We love living in a community that values keeping nature around.” Since moving back to Wilson Park Apartments, Stephanie has found herself in the position of the de facto resident gardener. She has big plans, including vegetables, herbs, flowers for bee pollination, and connecting with neighbors who are as excited about the garden as she is. Stephanie grew up as an only child in a very rural area: “I didn’t have a cul-de-sac to play in, and I don’t even think any kids lived for several miles around.” She spent her time alone outside, and developed a deep
“WE'RE LEARNING TO LIVE
HARMONIOUSLY WITH EVERYONE WHO WAS HERE BEFORE US—THE BIRDS, THE INSECTS, AND THE TREES. love for nature. As an adult, she began collecting books on plants and horticulture: “We have a pretty large library in our apartment, and about half of them are books on wildlife-friendly gardening, survival in rural areas, and other aspects of horticulture. "For my birthday last year, I got Dirr’s Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs, and I was so excited!” she said. Stephanie is now putting her knowledge to use in improving processes in Wilson Park Apartments’ community garden—and in getting the area certified as a wildlife habitat. She and Kyle frequently go walking in Fayetteville’s historic district, and she noticed that many of the yards there have plaques stating they are Certified Wildlife Habitats. She began to wonder if it would be feasible to do the same at the apartments. She found a checklist for certification from the National Wildlife Federation. You have to achieve a certain number of goals from five categories: food, water, cover, places to raise young, and sustainable practices. According to Stephanie, it’s about learning to “live harmoniously with everyone who was here before us—the birds, the insects, and the trees.” 4 • SPECIALIZED REAL ESTATE GROUP
Wilson Park Apartments resident Stephanie Farmer with a friendly Buff Orpington hen at Tri-Cycle Farms
Stephanie has just started working toward her goal of certification, but she’s already made progress, thanks to support from Specialized Real Estate Group along the way. She received a micro-grant for materials, which she has put into use to purchase a rain barrel for the garden. This will provide sustainable fresh water for watering the garden. She will also be adding birdhouses, maybe some bat houses, and perennial flower seeds. She has a personal motivation for creating beautiful patches of flowers on the property: “I know back roads around Fayetteville where I can drive at certain times of year and find a huge field filled with buttercups. I dream of planting a field like that that will come back each year, something people can come out to see and enjoy. It doesn’t have to have my name on it. A lot of our society’s problems are so big and feel so unsolvable. It feels good to be part of solving a problem in a way that can make everyone happy.”
Photo by Stephanie Farmer
Stormwater Educator Jane Magniot demonstrates how to make a rain barrel at a workshop hosted by Botanical Garden of the Ozarks.
CONNECTION QUARTERLY: SPRING 2018 • 5
COMMUNITY EVENTS THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES AT T2 April 25 through May 27 Discover Fayetteville’s professional theatre company with this “gut-bustingly funny” play. This clever new adaptation of the celebrated Sherlock Holmes mystery brings the silly-yetdignified tone of British sketch comedy to a classic whodunnit. Thanks to the Lights Up! program, patrons under the age of 30 pay just $10 - cheaper than a movie! theatre2.org
NOW OPEN AT UPTOWN: PURITAN COFFEE & BEER AND BURTON'S CREAMERY!
BENTONVILLE FILM FESTIVAL May 1-6 It’s been a heckuva year for women in Hollywood, so BFF’s celebration of inclusion in the film world is sure to make a big splash. This year’s festival includes the Legacy Film Series highlighting films that pioneered diversity on the big screen and changed the national dialogue. From blockbusters to indie films, BFF has you covered! Event passes start at $15, and several free events are offered, too. bentonvillefilmfestival.org SQUARE 2 SQUARE BIKE RIDE May 12th This ride should be on your NWA bucket list. The spring Square 2 Square Bike Ride follows the Razorback Greenway, starting in Fayetteville and finishing in Bentonville. (The fall ride goes from north to south.) Fun for all ages! Total distance one-way is 30 miles. Along the course, you can enjoy three festive pit stops featuring entertainment, bike maintenance, and food. THE NUTTY RUNNER 5K June 2nd Featuring its namesake beer at every mile, this race starts and finishes at Columbus House Brewery and weaves through Fayetteville’s historic downtown and Wilson Park neighborhood. Keepsake pint glasses are included with your Nutty Runner registration as well as four beers along the course and at the Finish Line! Registration discounts for nondrinkers. mysparkfoundation.org
THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE TOUR June 9th Embrace nature in eight beautiful private gardens in Fayetteville! The Flower, Garden, and Nature Society of Northwest Arkansas presents their eagerly anticipated 19th annual tour. We’re thrilled that ECO Modern Flats will be a stop on the tour, and horticulturist Tim Copeland will be on hand to greet visitors. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at Eco on the day of the tour, which runs from 9am to 4pm.
6 • SPECIALIZED REAL ESTATE GROUP
MOVING TOGETHER CHALLENGE
GRAB A TRAINING BUDDY AND WE WILL PAY YOUR REGISTRATION FEES!
Any two (or more) SREG tenants or employees: Train for a race or ride together, and we’ll pay you each $30 toward your registration fees.
Fill out the form at: specializedreg.com/movingtogether
Tag your race day photo with #sregmovingtogether and we will mail you each a check for $30!
TURNING TRASH INTO TREASURE ALL THAT WEIRD PACKAGING CAN MAKE OUTDOOR FURNITURE FOR THE BUFFALO NATIONAL RIVER
We love to recycle, but there are some items, like disposable coffee cups, snack wrappers, and those little single-serve coffee pods, that aren't easy to recycle - until now! We are teaming up with Adventure Subaru to collect these items, which will be recycled by Terra Cycle into useful things, like picnic tables, park benches, and playground equipment. Adventure Subaru plans to donate furniture made from these recyclables to the Buffalo National River. Look for bright green collection boxes at Eco Modern Flats, Uptown Fayetteville Apartments, and our home office in downtown Fayetteville. Together, we can divert waste from our landfills and create something beautiful!
n io t ec ll co on on ic is h t r fo k Loo containers near you!
Building healthy places and connecting neighbors means that we consider not just the qualities of buildings, but the connectedness of the neighborhood surrounding them. A walkable neighborhood with a unique sense of place just feels better. It’s this feeling that we aim to capture in each of our projects.
We consider efficiency, beauty and health in every decision we make.
We create opportunities to move—through design, events and service.
We build and conserve places that connect people with nature.
We see growing and sharing food as a vital part of every community we build.
CONNECTION QUARTERLY: SPRING 2018 • 7
15 NORTH CHURCH AVENUE, SUITE 103 FAYETTEVILLE, AR 72701
WILLOW PARK APARTMENTS @bear_ent
ECO MODERN FLATS @curryfingersnik
UPTOWN APARTMENTS @boundaryband
HOME IS WHERE YOUR STORY BEGINS.
START IT WITH US UPTOWN APARTMENTS @trailsideyoga
WILSON PARK APTS @seedinthedirt