The Wilson House has received two Grills Grants in recent years, and the impact the grants have had is remarkable. The first grant allowed us to “clean” up a garden which needed love and attention. The clean up and reclaiming space and vistas allowed up to put up the only outdoor history exhibit in Washington, D.C., during the COVID 19-pandemic Suffrage Outside!: the 19th Amendment at 100. The garden was an amazing background for us to tell the story of women taking their voice and message ”outside” to claim their right to the vote 100 years ago.

Our recent grant allowed the staff and volunteers to take the Wilson House garden to the next step, making the garden as safe as it is beautiful for flora, fauna, visitors, and the environment. The Wilson House worked with the Perfect Earth Project, an incredible organization who advised on the next evolution of the garden revitalization and created the map above to show where the new plants would live and thrive. Over the last four years we have cleared, cleaned, and prepared the garden to be transformed into a safe, sustainable, urban garden free of chemicals and pesticides and good for the environment. In the course of three days in November 2023, 20 volunteer master gardeners and garden enthusiasts planted more than 200 trees, bushes, and flowers.

Click here to watch an interview with Voice of America and Executive Director Elizabeth Karcher speaking on the vision for the Wilson House Garden.