The Gardening Reaching Adults, Children and our Elders (GRACE) Program promotes sustainability in an urban growing space in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, according to Teki Hunt, director of 4-H youth development at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB). The garden’s name is the “State Street Good Earth Garden.” It is a collaborative effort between UAPB and several community members and organizations.
“4-H supports the project by assisting with the recruitment of volunteers, directing volunteers, promoting the program, supplying shredded paper for compost and providing fruits and vegetables for a farm stand,” Hunt said. “In 2022, 4-H youth from the Boys and Girls Club made bee houses under the direction of 4-H volunteer Verna Perry, CEO of the Carpenter’s Daughter Apprenticeship Program, Inc., and club leader of the Kid on the Block 4-H Club.”
UAPB’s Department of Agriculture, the Small Farm Program and UAPB’s Lonoke Farm support the garden by providing training and information as well as donating seedlings, sweet potato slips and organic garden soil.
The garden manager is Audrey Long, a community leader and Master Gardener, Hunt said. She uses reclaimed materials to build raised beds and sitting areas. Organic matter is donated by people in the community. A “Compost with Us” initiative provides 5-gallon food grade tubs to community members with instructions to collect vegetable and fruit scraps for composting.
“Audrey uses and teaches volunteers the benefits of hügelkultur, vermiculture and using raised beds so participants do not have to bend down when working in the garden,” Hunt said. “Beyond
gardening, she trains volunteers, makes arrangements for donated materials and writes grants to keep the garden going.”
Fruits, herbs and vegetables have been grown organically at the site since 2020, Long said. The focus is on using regenerative growing techniques – building soil with readily accessible items, modeled from indigenous cultures. Leaves, animal manures, wood ash and straw are used to demonstrate low-cost gardening.
“Food from the garden is distributed to visitors at our free farm stand, where we partner with other growers, local pantries and organizations to distribute food and personal items to the community,” Long said. “In 2023, we served the equivalent of some 2,000 meals from this program. The program was established during the 2021 COVID season.”
A 5-tank rainwater collection system is set up to reduce the need for the city’s water services, Long said. This was a project built by Eagle Scout Gabriel Miller and his Little Rock scout team.
“We heavily emphasize upcycling and recycling. We even reuse plastic shopping bags that will be put to use somehow,” Long said. “Everything at the garden has two or more uses. The more we keep out of our landfill, the better for us all in the long run.”
Garden participants include anyone interested in learning about and assisting in the project. Some are from the neighborhood; others are clients of the Flowers’ Medical Clinic/Pharmacy who are the owners of the property. Other participants are those who have just stopped by to inquire about the project and decided to get involved.
“This summer we are preparing our commons area for group meetings,” Long said. “We are making tables and would love any donations of outdoor items such as chairs, planters, grills, tools and supplies, in any shape.”
For more information about the project, contact Hunt at (870) 575-8538 or [email protected].
