Join us for a morning of honeysuckle hacking & trash clean up at the historic Greenwood Cemetery! In celebration of Juneteenth, you're invited to join us this community volunteer event on Saturday, June 17th.
Greenwood Cemetery was organized in 1874 as the first commercial non-sectarian cemetery for African Americans in the St. Louis metropolitan area. More than 50,000 African Americans have been laid to rest within Greenwood’s 32 acres. After the final burial in 1993, the cemetery was no longer cared for through consistent maintenance and was left to a state of great neglect. As the property management ceased, natural growth took over, with invasive plants covering the understory and grapevine choking the historic, mature, native trees, as well as covering up the majority of headstones.
Since Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Association (GCPA) recovered the land in 2016, there has been vast improvement in land management efforts. In the last seven years, due to the efforts of GCPA and many volunteer groups, the majority of the cemetery has been reclaimed, recovered, and restored to historic land management standards. Headstones have been recovered, and families are able to locate their relatives.
Volunteer activities may include:
- Removing remaining invasive bush honeysuckle using hand tools
- Treating invasive winter creeper with organic herbicide
- Trash and debris pick up
- Other maintaince needs around the cemetery
Details:
Where: Greenwood Cemetery 6571 St Louis Ave, St. Louis, MO 63121
When: 9AM-12PM, followed by lunch and socializing from 12-1.
All necessary tools and training will be provided. Please wear closed toed shoes. Drinks, snacks, and lunch also provided. On-side restroom may or may not be available.
Volunteer and restoration efforts at Greenwood were recently featured on the news: https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/historic-st-louis-cemetery-cleanup/63-25d915a2-59fd-4d6b-b6e4-7bf0edc87169
Can't attend but still want to support? Donate to Greenwood HERE, or reach out to GCPA President Raphael Morris - raphael@greenwood.org