CITY OF FRESNO
Office of Council Vice President Annalisa Perea
__________________________________________
JERRY P. DYER, Honorable Mayor
__________________________________________
TYLER MAXWELL,
Council President District 4
__________________________________________
GARRY BREDEFELD, Councilmember District 6
__________________________________________
NELSON ESPARZA,
Councilmember District 7
__________________________________________
ANNALISA PEREA, Council Vice President District 1
__________________________________________
MIKE KARBASSI,
Councilmember District 2
__________________________________________
MIGUEL ARIAS,
Councilmember District 3
__________________________________________
LUIS CHAVEZ, Councilmember District 5
WHEREAS, the Dakota EcoGarden has been a beacon of hope and support for the unhoused community since August 2013. Over the span of ten years, it has extended a helping hand to 123 individuals, providing them with a safe place to stay, a mailing address, telephone and computer access, kitchen and laundry facilities. They not only offer a place to stay, but a space of safety, dignity, and opportunity; and
WHEREAS, Nancy Waidtlow laid the foundation of the partnership between the Dakota EcoGarden and the non-profit “The Eco Village Project of Fresno”, led by the locally famed architect Arthur Dyson. Under Mr. Dyson’s guidance, the EcoGarden boasts three architecturally innovative structures, designed to embrace and uplift those who have found themselves unhoused, garnering recognition through four esteemed architectural awards; and
WHEREAS, The Eco Village Project of Fresno embodies a holistic, individual housing alternative for the homeless in an environmentally sustainable manner. It’s a supportive pathway, equipping its residents with educational, emotional, and physical tools leading them to a meaningful and self-sufficient life; and
WHEREAS, residents of the Dakota EcoGarden tend to the garden, help with the cooking and maintenance of the place, and have gone so far as to install solar panels so that residents have access to electricity. With the capacity to shelter up to sixteen individuals at any given time, the Dakota EcoGarden has become a symbol of communal unity and strength; and
WHEREAS , the generosity of local community donors continues to fully fund the essential services, community, and volunteer work that takes place at the Dakota EcoGarden.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED , that we, Council Vice President Annalisa Perea, Mayor Jerry P. Dyer, and the Fresno City Councilmembers, do hereby proclaim Thursday, August 10, 2023, to be:
“Dakota EcoGarden Day”
in the City of Fresno.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have hereunto set our hands and affixed the seal of the City of Fresno, California, on this 10th day of August 2023.