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Home / Blogs / 5 Community-based Organizations receive the Community-green Access Mini-grant
December 6, 2024
This summer, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay announced a new mini-grant program called Community Green Access (CGA). The Mini-Grant supports organizations working on local, community-based projects for increased equity and inclusion in environmental and environmental-adjacent efforts. The Alliance is excited to award five projects across the watershed!
Chickahominy Indian Tribe- Eastern Division (CIT-ED) is a non-reservated Eastern Woodlands Tribe of about 250 citizens that continues to have its roots in what is now known as the state of Virginia before colonists migrated from England. Tribe leaders indicated a clear priority to better engage in and pass down community connection with the earth and ancestors through traditional methods of planting for food, cordage, basket weaving, medicine and ceremonial use.
With awarded CGA funds, CIT-ED is planning and implementing a Tribal food forest. The food forest will have local and culturally significant plant species to the Tribe, and utilize permaculture and traditional methods for planting, maintenance, and harvesting. It will decrease food insecurity and increase food sovereignty in the Tribal community while incorporating traditional ecological knowledge, community outreach, and education. The food forest will give access to safe, outdoor space for the local Tribal community, with opportunities for the public community to participate during work and educational days. It will also address climate change concerns by improving soil and water retention, sequestering carbon, and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions caused by food transportation.
The Edible Classroom, a non-profit serving the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area, partners with schools and communities to create and sustain learning gardens where children, families, and communities engage with nutritious food from seed to table.
73% of students in the Lancaster school districts served are economically disadvantaged and two schools are among the most underfunded in the state. 13 of 14 schools served by Edible Classroom are located in an area with very low to moderate Child Opportunity scores. These scores represent difficult access to educational, health, and social opportunities, all of which are critical for childrens’ well-being and success.
With funds awarded from CGA, The Edible Classroom will bring school day lessons in the garden that will reinforce classroom learning around the new PA State Standards for Science: STEELS (Science, Technology, Engineering, Environmental Literacy and Sustainability). Students will have the opportunity to participate in the seed-to-table process by amending soil, planting seeds, watering, tending, harvesting, preparing, and tasting student-grown produce right in the garden! Community members will also have the opportunity to engage with the garden through ongoing volunteer opportunities and free workshops and events.
A group of students help to harvest mint in a raised garden bed.
NeighborSpace of Baltimore County is a non-profit in Towson, Maryland that enhances the livability of Baltimore County’s urban communities by protecting, restoring, and stewarding land for small parks, gardens, trails, and natural areas. Their awarded project aims to empower six NeighborSpace communities to independently enhance, maintain and guide the future use of their local green spaces.
The 6 communities in which the green spaces reside have high environmental effect and socioeconomic factor indicators on EJ Screen, as well as being historically underserved. community leaders requested more programming to assist with engaging more – and younger – neighbors in the care of their public green spaces.
NeighborSpace will look to understand each community’s environmental and social needs by conducting community assessments to gauge interest in the parks and understand current usage and environmental conditions. Then, they will equip community members with skills and tools for park stewardship. This will include ongoing training and resources like maintenance manuals and gardening tools, and supporting community-led management plans. Together, this project will inform a structured volunteer program and establish environmental baselines for future improvements.
The Swansboro West Civic Association represents the residents in the City of Richmond between Midlothian Turnpike and Hull Street from Broad Rock Road to just before Belt Blvd. They are home to more than 2,300 residents, including one in three households with children. The Swansboro West community does not have a park or public green space within its boundaries. The Swansboro Elementary School has available space to accommodate a park, but currently offers only a small, aging playground, vast open space with little landscaping or shade, and is fenced off, making it uninviting to neighbors.
Through CGA, Swansboro West Civic Association will engage the community in a visioning process to design a park space that meets the needs of the community, as well as the elementary school. The community has a significant older population that has expressed that they would like a fitness path and a community garden where they can work with the kids. Other residents seek a place simply to gather as a community. This project will organize the community’s thoughts and desires into a comprehensive vision that can be used as a focal point to acquire funding and support to build the park.
The urban heat vulnerability by census block in Richmond
Baltimore Green Space is a land trust located in Baltimore City that helps preserve community gardens, pocket parks, and urban forests for generations to come. When they asked their site leaders what motivates them to care for green spaces, the common response was “community-building.” Baltimore Green Space believes green spaces are essential to engaging residents and strengthening the vital web of community in Baltimore City.
Baltimore has a relatively low life expectancy of 73.6 years, compared to 77.3 years nationally. Many of these same communities are also healthy food priority areas, where residents lack access to affordable, healthy, locally grown food, or dependable transportation. Green spaces in low resourced communities improve quality of life (reducing rates of asthma, diabetes, and obesity) and well being, but are drastically under-resourced. Through CGA, Baltimore Green Space will support and sustain local green spaces in overburdened Baltimore City neighborhoods and educate neighbors about the benefits of their green spaces.
The Alliance is excited to support the development of these projects through our Community Green Access Mini-Grant program.
Capacity Building Projects Manager
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