National Garden Beautification Program Kicks-Off Earth Day in New York City!

Sunday was the 37th annual Earth Day observance! What can you do to take part? One great way to contribute something positive to the planet is to help rejuvenate a garden or green space in your community. In celebration of Earth Day, Aveeno Inspires: Active Gardens kicked-off Friday April 20th by beautifying the Dias y Flores community garden, which, for years, has served as a nurturing environment for the Lower East Side neighborhood and was in need of a boost of its own. Aveeno and Organic Gardening Magazine joined us as they unveiled this beautiful garden that is now home to a new cistern system, nourishing plants and flowers, all priceless benefits of urban green spaces. Organic Gardening Magazine Editor-in-Chief Scott Meyer educates our community on water conservation tips for use in your home gardens, as well as how to make the most of compost and mulch and how to attract pollinators and beneficial insects. Part of a nationwide campaign, Aveeno Inspires: will beautify, revitalize and re-invigorate gardens, parks, trails and other natural environments across America. This yearlong effort to renew community gardens and shared surroundings from coast to coast will help inspire women to discover natural beauty in themselves, as well as in their everyday lives and communities. More about Aveeno Inspires: Active Gardens: SKILLMAN, NJ (April 20, 2007) To help inspire women to discover natural beauty in themselves as well as in their everyday lives and communities, the AVEENO Brand launches a nationwide campaign to beautify, revitalize and re-invigorate community gardens, parks, trails and other natural environments across America. The brand kicks-off this yearlong effort with its nationwide garden beautification program to renew community gardens and shared surroundings from coast to coast. Aveeno Inspires: Active Gardens launched Friday, April 20th at the Dias y Flores Garden on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. For years, Dias y Flores (Days and Flowers) has offered local residents a tranquil and shaded garden by serving as a nurturing environment for the diverse neighborhood. Like many community gardens nationwide, Dias y Flores has provided its neighbors a respite and now is in need of a boost of its own. Aveeno has joined forces with Organic Gardening Magazine to refresh those community gardens in need of a facelift. The revitalization will include rainwater-harvesting cisterns and nourishing plants that will enable community gardeners to conserve water while educating their neighbors on the invaluable benefits of urban green spaces to the community as a whole. Many of the community gardens we plan to beautify are located in abandoned lots, which rarely have water available on-site says Organic Gardening Editor-in-Chief Scott Meyer. With these new cisterns and beautiful, nourishing plants, the community gardeners will not only have a more beautiful garden, but healthier soil, plants and better access to water, as well as a more environmentally friendly way to access water. At the unveiling of the new Dias y Flores Garden, members of the community learned the secrets to successful gardening from Organic Gardening’s Scott Meyer. Some of these tips include: * Water your garden in the morning to ensure that your plants are hydrated all day. * Water plants on the soil around the base rather than sprinkling it on the leaves. This gets it right to the roots so there’s no waste, and it protects plants from ugly fungal diseases, which thrive on damp foliage. * Add compost to the soil whenever you plant. Compost fertilizes and holds moisture in the soil until plants’ roots are ready to absorb it. * Spread a layer of organic mulch on top of bare soil. Mulch, such as shredded leaves, straw, or pine bark, is the ultimate labor saver, because it blocks weeds from sprouting, conserves moisture in the soil, and adds valuable organic matter as it decomposes. * Include a wide variety of flowers and herbs in your garden. Colorful and fragrant plants not only delight your senses, they attract pollinators and the beneficial insects (like ladybugs) that prey on pests. Just as gardeners collaborate with nature to harness the deluge and survive the drought, Aveeno relies on Mother Nature to provide key Active Naturals ingredients such as shitake, lavender, chamomile, soy and feverfew to deliver effective skincare results. These nutrient-rich ingredients will be planted in each of the revitalized community gardens. This dedication to Mother Nature’s green spaces began last year with the refurbishment of the Daly Avenue Community Garden in the Bronx, and continues for the rest of the year across the United States with the restoration of community gardens in New Brunswick, N.J., Dallas, Portland, Gaylord, MI and Atlanta. The program expands this summer with an effort to Inspire Natural Beauty in the Nation’s most precious parks, including the Golden Gate Park, Rocky Mountain Trail Divide and the Philadelphia Fairmont Park Network. This includes efforts to restore and beautify trails within each of these beloved National parks and will provide park visitors with green living tips to encourage them to make a difference and to discover the natural beauty in themselves. The Earth is our home. We all want to keep it healthy and beautiful. That’s why Aveeno is proud to sponsor events and community programs that encourage you to get involved and to make a difference. We understand that every individual can have an impact on the world around us. What better day than Earth Day to get involved in honoring the planet on which we live? To celebrate, Aveeno has partnered with a host of sponsors to bring you events that will educate, involve and most of all, inspire you to discover the natural beauty in your world. More about Aveeno: Aveeno, one of the brands of the Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products Company, is the leader in Active Naturals, harnessing the power of natural ingredients like oatmeal, soy and feverfew to improve the health and beauty of skin. Recommended by dermatologists and pediatricians for over 60 years, Aveeno is committed to identifying new natural technologies and developing breakthrough product formulations clinically proven to deliver real skincare benefits. The Aveeno line includes skincare products for face, body, baby, lip, sun protection and itch relief. For more information about the Aveeno brand and its product offerings, visit: http://www.aveeno.com. More about Rodale: Rodale Inc. is the authoritative source for trusted content in health, fitness and wellness around the world, reaching more than 40 million people each month through its magazine titles. The company publishes some of the best-known health and wellness lifestyle magazines, including Men’s Health, Prevention, Women’s Health, Runner’s World, Bicycling, Backpacker, Running Times and Organic Gardening, and is also the largest independent book publisher in America with an expanding stable of best-selling titles, including Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and The South Beach Diet. Rodale’s broad range of media platforms also includes video and extensive Web sites. The company is a leader in direct response marketing and has more than 25 million active customers in its database. http://www.rodale.com . More about Scott Meyer: Scott Meyer, Editor of Organic Gardening, has been with the magazine for 18 years, serving in a variety of roles including product tester and Website producer. He has been a gardening expert for many media outlets, including the Today show, Good Morning America, CBS Early Show and the Wall Street Journal. His writing has also appeared in Philadelphia, Men’s Health, Mountain Bike, Honeymoon, and other magazines. Scott is the author of Totally Roses (Chronicle Books, 1995), 100 Jobs in Words (MacMillan, 1996) and The Guy’s Guide to Guy’s Videos (Avon Books, 1997). He lives with his wife and two children in Warrington, Pennsylvania.