According to Teki Hunt, 4-H Youth Development Director at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), the Gardening Reaching Adults, Children and Seniors (GRACE) program is promoting sustainability in urban growing spaces in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The garden is called the State Street Good Earth Garden and is a collaboration between UAPB and several local residents and organizations.
“4-H supports this project by recruiting volunteers, mentoring volunteers, promoting the program, providing shredded paper for composting, and providing fruits and vegetables for the produce stand,” Hunt said. “In 2022, Boys & Girls Club 4-H youth built honeybee hives under the guidance of Verna Perry, 4-H volunteer, CEO of Carpenter’s Daughter Apprenticeship Program, Inc. and club leader for Kid on the Block 4-H Club.”
UAPB’s Agriculture Department, Small Farm Program and UAPB’s Lonoke Farm support the garden through training, information and donations of seedlings, sweet potato plants and organic soil.
The garden is managed by community leader and master gardener Audrey Long, who uses recycled materials to create raised flower beds and seating areas, Hunt said. Organic matter is donated by members of the community. An initiative called “Compost With Us” provides community members with five-gallon food containers and asks them to collect vegetable and fruit scraps for composting.
“Audrey teaches volunteers about the benefits of hyggelculture, vermiculture and using raised beds so participants don’t have to bend over when working in the garden,” Hunt said.
In addition to gardening, she also trains volunteers, organizes donated materials, and applies for grants to maintain the gardens.”
According to Long, the site has been growing organic fruits, herbs and vegetables since 2020. The focus is on using regenerative growing techniques modeled on indigenous cultures to build soil with readily available materials: leaves, animal manure, wood ash and straw are used to demonstrate low-cost gardening.
“Food from the farm is distributed to visitors at a free farm stand where we partner with other growers, local food pantries and organizations to distribute food and personal items to the community,” Long said. “In 2023, we have provided the equivalent of approximately 2,000 meals from this program, which was established during the 2021 COVID season.”
Long said a five-tank rainwater collection system was installed to reduce demand on the city’s water service, a project built by Eagle Scout Gabriel Miller and his Little Rock scout troop.
“We’re big on upcycling and recycling – even reusing plastic shopping bags that would have some use,” Long says. “Everything in the garden has more than one use. The less stuff that goes into landfill, the better for all of us in the long run.”
Garden participants are open to anyone who has heard about the project and is interested in helping out – some are neighbors, some are customers of Flowers Medical Clinic/Pharmacy, which owns the land, and some who stop by to inquire about the project and then decide to get involved.
“This summer we are preparing our common areas for group meetings,” Long said. “We are putting up tables, but would appreciate any donations of outdoor equipment, including chairs, planters, grills, tools and supplies.”
For more information about the project, contact Hunt at (870) 575-8538 or [email protected].
