Garden Futures Grants Highlights: GreenSpacesLA, Terra BIRDS, Land to Learn

The Garden Conservancy’s Garden Futures Grants (formerly known as Gardens for Good) program awards grants—typically ranging from $5,000 to $10,000—to small public gardens and other nonprofit organizations that are making a significant impact in their communities through garden-based programming. Through this program, we celebrate and highlight the work of innovative and diverse gardening practices throughout the United States.

In 2022 we awarded 16 grants to organizations around the country, and we are pleased to share highlights from three recipients whose work is supported by your generous donations.

One of our 2022 grant recipients was GreenSpacesLA , a nonprofit in Los Angeles, CA, whose mission is to create, revitalize, renovate and maintain public community gardens in underserved urban locations in South Los Angeles.

GreenSpacesLA has worked to beautify and bring greenspaces to the Watts community since March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic brought food insecurity to the doorstep of the Imperial Courts Housing Projects and the residents who live there. The founders of GreenSpacesLA began volunteering at the Watts Empowerment Center to help obtain and distribute food to the community. After spending months working with local residents, who were devastated by the pandemic and isolated by stay-at-home orders, the founders learned that the community desperately needed green outdoor spaces to gather, relax, and grow healthy foods. And so GreenSpacesLA was born!

The organization believes that greater access to local greenspaces is important to the health and vitality of the Watts community. They oversee the installation and also the short and long-term maintenance of greenspaces. Through this process, they have developed a unique hybrid professional-neighborhood partnership that co-maintains each garden and greenspace created.

The Garden Conservancy was delighted to hear that being a Garden Futures Grants recipient has helped GreenSpacesLA to grow and make a greater impact in their community:

“Being recognized as a recipient of The Garden Conservancy grant was transformative for GreenSpacesLA. Receiving such a generous grant from a nationally recognized organization not only allowed us to meet our community garden goals sooner, it gave us the confidence – and credibility –to pursue additional grants to expand our reach. Because of The Garden Conservancy grant, we were awarded an additional grant from our LA County Supervisor to create a second Unity garden in Watts, which we are starting in December 2022.”

— Stacy Twilley, Co-Founder, GreenSpacesLA

Learn more about GreenSpacesLA by visiting their website and social media account greenspacesla.org

@GreenSpacesLA

Another 2022 grant recipient, Terra BIRDS, is a nonprofit based in Flagstaff, AZ, whose mission is to inspire the next generation to design a sustainable and equitable future through gardening, eco-restoration, landscaping, outdoor recreation, community development, and personal wellness.

Terra BIRDS’ extraordinary impact can best be described by their three core programs:

• The School Gardens Program seeks to guarantee that all local kids grow up with a continuous track of nature-based experiences

• The Green Jobs Program strives to give real-world, green job experiences to local youth that will help build a diverse community of informed, active and accountable citizens

• The Community Gardens Program aims to educate the broader Flagstaff community about the importance of growing their own food and how to do so in a high desert environment

Through all of their programs, Terra BIRDS works towards equitable and fair access to wild urban spaces and gardens, as they recognize the historic and current imbalances in their small community. They strive to defend and cultivate natural open spaces that are accessible to any or all people in Flagstaff.

“Terra BIRDS works to expand and celebrate the important role of the gardener in today’s world. By developing garden and stewardship skills during the school day and after-school youth work programs, we hope to inspire young people to grow healthy food, respond to climate-related impacts to our environment, support and expand thriving habitats for people and wildlife, and to connect to the knowledge and wisdom of our elders. Support and partnership from The Garden Conservancy helps honor and pass on diverse garden knowledge to the next generation of gardeners.”

— Andrea Hartley, Development Director, Terra BIRDS

Learn more about Terra BIRDS on their website and social media channels: terrabirds.org

@terra_birds and Facebook

Located in Beacon, NY, Land to Learn is a 2022 grant recipient whose mission is to grow a movement for food justice and community wellness through garden-based education.

Their flagship public school program, SproutEd, integrates nutrition, education, and experiential learning directly into the school day by bringing kindergarten through second-grade students into garden classrooms. Land to Learn’s education directors build school gardens and teach lessons during the school day and year-round that educate students in nutrition, cooking, plant science, ecology, and food systems.

Recognizing the additional need for inclusivity and accessibility, Land to Learn has expanded its mission-based work to serve community centers, after-school programs, and student-led farmers markets. They also support fostered youths and youth burdened by the criminal legal system through their RadicleRoots for Teens and GroundTruth programs. Their ToolShed program is a train-the-trainer resource designed to put their most promising practices directly into the hands of teachers and parents looking to engage in educational gardening in their schools or homes.

“We really appreciate the generous support of The Garden Conservancy, which has helped Land to Learn carry out our flagship garden-based education program, SproutEd. Curious and eager students spent the fall months happily exploring and learning in their school gardens about seeds, life cycles, habitats, nutrition, and more. They have enjoyed some tasty vegetables fresh from the garden, including tomatoes, peppers, kale, and string beans.” landtolearn.org

— Sam Adels, Co-Director, Land to Learn Learn more about Land to Learn on their website and social media.

@landtolearn

The Garden Conservancy looks forward to highlighting more about our 2022 Gardens Futures Grants recipients in our next newsletter! For those interested in applying for a 2023 grant, applications will be announced via email to our entire mailing list in early Spring 2023.

Interested in supporting our Garden Futures Grants? Contact us at 845.424.6500 or visit our website: gardenconservancy.org