Memphis, TN

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: To help more South Memphis families access fresh food, Knowledge Quest made upgrades the hydroponic system at its Green Leaf Learning Farm, installing fifty new grow towners onsite. The infrastructure improvements allow the three-acre urban farm to produce more vegetables, which Knowledge Quest makes available to local lower-income families. Project organizers say the farm's increased capacity also allows them to offer more farming and nutrition education programming, which helps community members become more self-reliant. Today the farm is an agritourism destination, hosting school field trips related to beekeeping, vegetable growing, aquaponics, green building and more.

Tucson, AZ

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2021

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: The Blue Moon Community Garden in Tucson is located next a 17-story apartment building with hundreds of residents, many of whom are older adults. However, the garden lacked shade and amenities, including public bathrooms and benches, which discouraged potential volunteers. Community Gardens of Tucson, which manages twenty gardens across the city, installed tables, benches and pop-up shade structures. They also built raised garden beds, improved pathways and added a compostable toilet onsite. The improvements allow garden to offer more diverse programming for community members, which has led to more volunteer engagement.

Green Bay, WI

AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2024

Project Category: Community Gardens

Description: The project will create a landscaped garden for growing medicinal plants traditional to the Oneida Nation. Signage will describe each plants importance, history and use and community elders will harvest the plants for social and medicinal purposes.