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City of Brevard (2022) Print
2022 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Public places
└ Community Gardens
└ Community Gardens
In Brevard's Rosenwald neighborhood, residents lacked access to fresh food and safe outdoor spaces. The city created a community garden with raised beds for older adults and children, added ADA-compliant benches and picnic tables and hosted events to engage neighbors. The garden now offers a place for healthy activity and social connection. One resident shared joy at gardening with her son, who has a brain injury, while another found comfort there after losing a partner.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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Imperial Beach, CA
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Imperial Beach lacked accessible spaces for older adults to garden and connect, despite strong community demand. The city converted a 4,500-square-foot lot near its adult center into an intergenerational garden with 18 raised beds and wheelchair-accessible planters. It also added a greenhouse, compost bins, a tool shed and seating areas. More than 150 volunteers, including many age 50 or over, helped build the space and joined planting days and nutrition workshops. The garden now hosts monthly classes on gardening and healthy cooking, offering residents a welcoming place to socialize. They are able to stay active and grow fresh produce-turning a vacant lot into a hub for health and community.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Columbus, OH
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: The International Harvest Garden lacked shade and seating, leaving gardeners age 50-plus and families without a comfortable place to rest or gather. The project added a picnic table with side access for mobility aids, a shade trellis and improved walkways for easier navigation. These upgrades will support cultural events and reduce isolation, with volunteers saying the changes will make the garden "a sanctuary as well as a place of growth and education."
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Delaware County, OH
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: To give older adult residents of an affordable housing complex a space to gather, SourcePoint and Age-Friendly Delaware County created an accessible community garden. Volunteers installed raised beds to enable gardeners to work without needing to kneel down. Additionally, they laid an ADA-complaint crushed gravel path, added accessible benches and erected an aluminum fence around the space. Today, St. Michael's Community Garden hosts programming for gardeners and non-gardeners alike, including healthy cooking classes. Project organizers say the garden has helped combat social isolation, and senior housing residents now grow produce in their own backyard, which helps reduce their grocery bills.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Brevard, NC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2025
Project Category: Disaster Preparedness
Description: After Hurricane Helene, many residents, including older adults, continued to experience emotional strain while also recognizing how unprepared they had been for the disaster. Recovery efforts largely focused on physical damage, leaving fewer opportunities to address grief, anniversary reactions and survivor guilt. City of Brevard hosted in-person workshops that combined hands-on disaster preparedness with guided conversations about emotional recovery. Participants received starter emergency kits and clear checklists while learning how emotional health connects to preparedness. A documentary film captured local voices and lessons from the storm, extending the reach of the workshops. Many participants reported plans to assemble go-bags and organize documents, and the film is now being reused as a training resource to support longer-term community resilience.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Brevard, NC
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2023
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: Families lacked a shared space for growing food and learning healthy habits. The project expanded a community garden with a 50-by-50-foot section and engaged retired tutors and students in planting activities. Gardening became a therapeutic activity that strengthened relationships and encouraged intergenerational learning. The space now serves as a hub for wellness and education, with plans for classes, volunteer recruitment and partnerships to grow participation and promote healthy eating.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
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