Schoolyard Roots

 The Druid City Garden Project is a community-based non-profit working in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to increase access to fresh, locally grown produce. Using our pilot school garden program and implementing science and math based educational programs at University Place, DCGP aims to reconnect Tuscaloosa's youth and residents to food systems, sustainability and local food. We act as a locus for community activity, cooperation and vitality.  

Our pilot program began in May 2010, when a field of clover beside the school was transformed into a 2500 square foot organic garden. Since then, the DCGP has offered bi-weekly lessons to over 200 at-risk students a year from pre-K-5th grade. Students participate in hands-on activities that are designed to augment learning in science, math, reading, writing, nutrition and encourage a better understanding of where their food comes from. Students help maintain the garden and have the opportunity to eat what they have helped to grow.

University Place is a Title I school, where over 90% of the student population is minority and 83% of the students receive a free or reduced lunch. Food security and malnutrition are significant concerns within this community, and many students receive their only meals of the day while at school. Many of the students that attend University Place have a diet devoid of fresh fruits and vegetables and are in a demographic that is most vulnerable to processed, high-fat, high-sugar foods. They are from low-income neighborhoods and are at high risk for developing childhood obesity and diabetes. The school garden is a way to respond to these concerns, and is a site of food production for the community. By offering a pathway to healthy eating, the garden has the potential to change eating habits and influence food choices of those involved. During the school year, students participate in our Budding Entrepreneurs Program by operating an on-site farm stand during pick up time, so that parents, teachers, and school staff can purchase subsidized produce grown in the garden.

On April 27th 2011, University Place was destroyed by the devastating tornado that ripped through many of Alabama’s communities. Although our garden was damaged, it recovered and became a bright spot for our neighborhood and a symbol of rebirth after the storm. Until the school is rebuilt, our original garden will serve as a site of urban food production, a community teaching space, and a service-learning project for University of Alabama students. In the fall of 2011, seven raised beds were built at the interim location of University Place in the West End, making it possible for us to continue our garden education program there.

For more information, visit our website at www.druidcitygardenproject.org