Join us in the Temperance Alley Sanctuary rewilding project to explore the flavors of our native plants. We'll be tasting a variety of teas and dishes prepared with foraged ingredients as we discuss the history and tradition of plants as food and medicine. We also welcome you to bring a foraged tea or dish.

The Temperance Alley Sanctuary is a community rewilding project of the Temperance Alley Garden – a place to quiet down, to observe, and to cultivate reciprocity between ourselves and the land. We welcome you to join in rewilding this urban lot to bring back native biodiversity, a time capsule of DC’s Indigenous history, and an ecological classroom to practice community land stewardship.

Bring a reusable cup for teas (hot and iced) and any foraged dishes you'd like to share.

hosted by Joe

All levels flow in the garden for our community donation-suggested classes with the beautiful greenery and open blue sky. Perfect for grounding and centering. Bring yourself, water, and a mat (we’ll have a few extra on hand).

Our dedicated time for reflective listening to all that’s budding within the Garden ecosystem. The rearview mirror where stories from the previous month can be shared in community. Bring a TAG story to share or discover one based on the evening’s prompts.

StoryKeeping Circles are held on the middle Monday of each month. All are welcome to participate fully.

hosted by Josh & Aaron

Deleting the apps, trying month offline, organizing phone-free gatherings — personal strategies like these are a great way to push back against the extractive, attention-sucking design of Big Tech platforms. But what about through law? Can policy actually hold these companies accountable and is there any hope?

Join the Attention Sphere for a panel and Q&A digging into the history and current state of tech policy: from decades of fights over privacy and surveillance to today’s battles over social media and AI. We’ll talk about what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what’s actually possible from here.

Guest Speakers:

~ Adam Billen, Co-Executive Director of Encode, where he’s helped pass laws like the TAKE IT DOWN Act and push state-level AI regulation across the country.

~ Zamaan Qureshi, co-founder and Director of Campaigns and Policy at Design It For Us, where he leads the youth-led fight for safer social media and tech accountability.

~ Ava Smithing, Founding Partner at The Attention Studio, working on nonpartisan policy solutions to build a healthier, less extractive tech ecosystem.

~ Kara Williams, Counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information center where she leads state & federal privacy, ai and social media policy.

Hosted by Kendall

Start your week with a mindful moment of reset and reconnection at the Garden, every Monday at 8am!

Join us Monday morning to sip something warm, connect with neighbors, and ease into the day. We will have space for socializing and space for quiet reflection and journaling.

Drop in anytime. Bring a beverage, your breakfast, a journal, or nothing at all.

hosted by Zoe & Friends

Letting go of perfectionism through self portraiture.

Lean out of perfectionism and into acceptance through painting/drawing yourself. This workshop will guide you through creating a self portrait that reflects your inner world and introduces you to the joys of distorting your own image. I will show examples of artists I love, along with my self portrait paintings and comics to spark ideas of what would make a cathartic and expressive portrait for you.

No drawing or painting experience required. 

I will provide acrylic paint and pens and multiple surface options but you’re welcome to bring your medium of choice.

hosted by Ellie @elliepaintsforyou and Alexis

Repurpose scrap to make beautiful sculptures! In this workshop, you’ll learn to combine wires, basic masking tape, and paint to make funky floral sculpture that sits on your head!

hosted by Zoe & Lief

Come get your hands in the soil with our partners at Farm the District (FTD), every Saturday throughout the growing season. Whether you’re a first-timer or returning veteran, all are needed to help tend to our shared backyard. There’s plenty of projects to keep all hands busy, including weeding, watering, composting, harvesting, repairing, crafting, and ongoing side projects. The Farm Leads will help you learn all about the tasks of the day, and you’re welcome to come & go as you please!

As always, we’ll also be giving an orientation tour for newcomers. Welcome neighbors!

Chance of thunderstorm ⛈️ we’ll see you next time!

Welcome to Play Jam! A casual space to enjoy clown and improv exercises for the experienced and new :)

Improvisational theater is an unplanned, spontaneously and collaboratively created experience that exists only in the present moment. A moment that ends as quickly as it starts, like the flame on a match. 

Play Jam will be a series of Improv games and warm-ups that help us be present in the moment. It will culminate in a 10-minute montage where we can take what we learn in the warm-ups to create an experience that will never be made again. 

Temperance Alley Garden is the perfect host; much like Improv, Temperance exists in a temporary space, it may not exist forever, but that does not mean the stories it tells or the relationships it fosters are not meaningful. Both Improv and Temperance teach us to truly savor the moment, pay attention, actively listen, and most importantly, engage with each other and the land we’re on.

hosted by Kunal

Come gather for some productive artistic time together while the garden is blooming around us. Bring a project you're working on, your instrument of choice, or just come socialize with fellow creatives. Some basic art supplies will be provided.

Hosted by Jordyn & Creatives Club DC

Our midweek harvest is donated to Martha’s Table through a long-running partnership with Farm the District. Join us every hump day at 7pm to give back to the community. No experience necessary, we’ll teach you how to harvest.

Hosted by Riley

Our meditation community meets weekly to re-center, connect, and cultivate intentions. With a mix of guided, silent, and relational practice, we ground ourselves in presence and compassion. All levels of experience warmly welcomed.

Hosted by regulars and guests alike, bring a practice for the circle to share.

Join Temperance Alley Garden and the Congressional Cementry’s Death Doula Laura Lyster-Mensh in hosting another summer Death cafe!

Death Cafe is a global movement facilitating thoughts and discussion about the often taboo subject of death. Join us in a candle-lit, intimate, and informal gathering to discuss death while eating cake and drinking tea! At previous cafes we’ve talked about our fears and thoughts around death; death of places; death in the media; and much more.

We welcome all to join us!

Hosted by Leah, Jacob, & Laura

All levels flow in the garden for our community donation-suggested classes with the beautiful greenery and open blue sky. Perfect for grounding and centering. Bring yourself, water, and a mat (we’ll have a few extra on hand).

Start your week with a mindful moment of reset and reconnection at the Garden, every Monday at 8am!

Join us Monday morning to sip something warm, connect with neighbors, and ease into the day. We will have space for socializing and space for quiet reflection and journaling.

Drop in anytime. Bring a beverage, your breakfast, a journal, or nothing at all.

hosted by Zoe & Friends

How can we reassess our relationship with consumerism? Try a No-Buy August (or Low-Buy August) challenge with a group of peers!

Earlier in August, we met to set personal goals to identify our true needs and resist overconsumption. Now, we’ll meet again to reflect on how the challenge went.

If you couldn’t make the introduction meeting, feel free to still join in on the challenge yourself and meet us at the reflection!

Hosted by Claire

Come get your hands in the soil with our partners at Farm the District (FTD), every Saturday throughout the growing season. Whether you’re a first-timer or returning veteran, all are needed to help tend to our shared backyard. There’s plenty of projects to keep all hands busy, including weeding, watering, composting, harvesting, repairing, crafting, and ongoing side projects. The Farm Leads will help you learn all about the tasks of the day, and you’re welcome to come & go as you please!

As always, we’ll also be giving an orientation tour for newcomers. Welcome neighbors!

Join the Garden plants and critters for an evening of home-grown music –– somewhere between a house show and barnyard jam. While tipping the bands is encouraged the event is free and open to all. Bring a blanket to sit on and snacks to share :)

produced by Lucy

Every last Thursday of the month, we explore a question about the connection between public space and how we live our lives. 

This series invites you, wherever you join us from, to think critically about the way we build the world around us, and how it in turn builds us. Drawing from themes in psychology, urbanism, sociology, public health, art, and others, together we will read introductory essays and literature and connect theory with our experiences.

No prior knowledge needed! Light readings will be provided day-of to prompt discussion. Come ready to think, observe, and participate.

hosted by Zoe and Rachel

We’re so excited to invite you to our first session of the Thriving Mindfully series hosted by the U Street Neighborhood Association’s 2026 Artist-in-Residence Ananda Leeke !

At this U Street neighborhood gathering, participants will...  

💭 Engage in a land acknowledgement ritual
😌 Be introduced to Thriving Mindfully, a heart-centered approach to being present with breathing and intention setting exercises
🎶 Listen to music
💌 Express and document their love and gratitude for U Street

All will be invited to share and discuss their thoughts.

NOTE: This gathering is taking place at the True Reformer Building in the Community Room (1200 U St). Please email brittany@ustreetcommunity.org to RSVP.

Our meditation community meets weekly to re-center, connect, and cultivate intentions. With a mix of guided, silent, and relational practice, we ground ourselves in presence and compassion. All levels of experience warmly welcomed.

Hosted by regulars and guests alike, bring a practice for the circle to share.

POSTPONED due to rain… keep an eye out for the reschedule real soon though!

Join us in the Temperance Alley Sanctuary rewilding project to explore the flavors of our native plants. We'll be tasting a variety of teas and dishes prepared with foraged ingredients as we discuss the history and tradition of plants as food and medicine. We also welcome you to bring a foraged tea or dish.

The Temperance Alley Sanctuary is a community rewilding project of the Temperance Alley Garden – a place to quiet down, to observe, and to cultivate reciprocity between ourselves and the land. We welcome you to join in rewilding this urban lot to bring back native biodiversity, a time capsule of DC’s Indigenous history, and an ecological classroom to practice community land stewardship.

Bring a reusable cup for teas (hot and iced) and any foraged dishes you'd like to share.

hosted by Joe

All levels flow in the garden for our community donation-suggested classes with the beautiful greenery and open blue sky. Perfect for grounding and centering. Bring yourself, water, and a mat (we’ll have a few extra on hand).

Let’s get ready to Host!

Partner with a Stump Fellow to program your submitted event ideas for the month of AUGUST. Anyone can join as we discuss garden event planning, budgeting, and partnerships. Your ideas and energy are more than welcome! Come early to mingle and brainstorm your ideas before submitting.

*HouseKeeping Circles happen at the end of each month, they are the functional meetings where we calendar events for the next month of programming, approve any new spending, and can vote to change any Garden policies if needed. These meetings have official minutes that keep a record of our decisions and are shared with the rest of the U Street Neighborhood Association for transparency.

Start your week with a mindful moment of reset and reconnection at the Garden, every Monday at 8am!

Join us Monday morning to sip something warm, connect with neighbors, and ease into the day. We will have space for socializing and space for quiet reflection and journaling.

Drop in anytime. Bring a beverage, your breakfast, a journal, or nothing at all.

hosted by Zoe & Friends

Join Temperance Alley Garden and the Congressional Cemetery's Death Doula Laura Lyster-Mensh in hosting a summer Death cafe!

Death Cafe is a global movement facilitating thoughts and discussion about the often taboo subject of death. Join us in a candle-lit, intimate, and informal gathering to discuss death while eating cake and drinking tea! At previous cafes we've talked about our fears and thoughts around death; death of places; death in the media; and much more. We welcome all to join us!

hosted by Leah, Jacob, & Laura

Scripting Worlds is a flow-paced creative gathering for anyone who needs a reason to slow down and think (or feel) — without an agenda, a deadline, or a blank page that stares back.

We'll start with a calming body-based practice to help you move from "go-mode" into something quieter (think: less tension, more breathing room). From there, it's open writing and illustration time — completely unstructured, prompted only by a single word, phrase or question to get you started. You can write toward the life you want. Draft the first chapter of something. Process a hard week. Dream up something bold, half-formed, or completely new.

The point isn't productivity, it's permission without a pressing need to finish — just start. You don't have to be a writer or an artist to attend. Just show up & explore more of your imaginative side :)

What to Bring:

–Yourself
–Something to drink
–Something comfortable to sit on (i.e. mat, blanket, chair, pillow)

What to Expect:

–Reflection
–Creativity
–Good company

Come as you are. Leave with a little more clarity, a little more breathing room, and maybe something that surprises you. 🌱

hosted by Nayo, Kunal, & Amy