New London — The city's Edible Landscape Project will be highlighted from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday in the Spark Emporium and Co-working Space at 13 Golden St. during a community gathering that ties together Connecticut College, FRESH New London and the local makerspace.

The Edible Landscape Project, which started with the idea of renovating McDonald Park near Garfield Avenue, has since expanded its scope to encompass several areas of the city, including a parcel next to Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School, land behind Jennings Elementary School, a plot by Ye Olde Towne Mill near Hodges Square and an area of Cottage Street behind St. Francis House. 

Alicia McAvay, executive director of the urban agriculture group FRESH New London, said the idea is to increase food security among city residents by planting fruits trees and other edible plants. More than 100 residents near the quarter-acre McDonald Park have been involved in the process of planning what a new space might look like.

"We would love to see food growing all over the city," McAvay said. "We love that it also beautifies the area."

Because of its limited resources and with the help of Spark Makerspace founder Hannah Gant, FRESH reached out to Andrea Wollensak, director of Conn College's Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology, to assist in designing the public spaces, focusing on gardens and community gatherings. 

Wollensak, a professor of art, teaches a design public practice course and enlisted the help of 13 students to help imagine, with the help of community groups, what various public spaces and gardens around the city might look like. Some of their efforts will be featured at Thursday's event, which will include interactive maps and augmented-reality visualizations.

"It's been a really great experience," Wollensak said.

She noted as well that the students' designs will be seen May 12, when state officials come by the Spark space as they consider whether the region will be one of about a half-dozen in Connecticut to receive funding in the final round of Innovation Places grants that could total several hundred thousand dollars.

Conn College students also have worked to design and screen-print T-shirts that will be sold at the event Thursday and shown to CTNext board members, including George Mathanool of Groton. In addition, attendees are being asked to bring old cookbooks, seeds and recipes to the event for a swap, and interviewers will be on hand to record audio of people telling their food stories.

The Edible Landscape exhibit will be up through May 15, though the Spark space's hours are limited. The best times to go are 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays. 

l.howard@theday.com