GLOBAL GROWERS
SEMINARY ANNOUNCES NEW GRANT FOR C O M M U N I T Y G A R D E N , E X PA N D S PA R T N E R S H I P WITH GLOBAL GROWERS NETWORK B Y M I C H A E L K . T H O M P S O N , D I R E C T O R O F C O M M U N I C AT I O N S P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y C O O P E R F I S C U S -VA N R O S S U M
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OLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY ANNOUNCED A NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH THE GLOBAL GROWERS NETWORK THIS SPRING. Students from SAGE (Shaping Attention to
God’s Earth) will prepare space by expanding the Community Garden Sanctuary for the Global Growers Network to begin planting their own plots. Columbia Seminary hopes to recreate the community garden into a space of intentional partnership and growth with a ceremonial signing of their agreement during an Earth Day Celebration in April. “Global Growers grew out of the tremendous demand among international farmers, many who came to Atlanta as refugees of war, to reconnect to their agricultural heritage in
their new home,” their mission statement explains. “The mission of Global Growers Network is to increase the number of food producers who create access to healthy, sustainably-grown food and also to prepare farmers to be competitive in their local marketplace.” Each of the six Global Growers Network plots will be managed by an immigrant or refugee family or individual. Additionally, Columbia Seminary secured a $5,000 grant from the First Presbyterian Church Bergstrom Grants Committee in Neenah, WI. This grant is being used to construct a renewable rainwater capture system near the school’s Community Garden Sanctuary for storage of about 1,500 gallons of water. A new tool shed was built just last year, which will be shared by the Global Growers Network.