Tampa Heritage Initiative Unity Garden
Donation protected
VISION
We're raising money to help build an Educational Community Garden! This garden will feature conventional and hydroponic gardening systems!
The garden will serve to provide easily accessible organic fruits and vegetables to the community, improving our quality of health and fighting food insecurity!
One of the primary purposes of this garden is to educate all ages of children on basic growing skills and cultivate a spirit of self-sufficiency within them. Gardening engages kids by providing a dynamic environment to observe, discover, experiment, nurture and learn.
We need your help raising money so that we can obtain garden tools, materials and water irrigation so that Urban Progress Alliance can continue building the garden!
If you want to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit our website:
https://www.upaall.com/get-involved-donate
INTRO
Hello! I am Andre Hill Jr, an Environmental Sustainability major and the Operations Director of Urban Progress Alliance Inc. The vision for this community garden in West Tampa began 2 years ago with the idea that a community can provide itself with fresh produce and adopt healthier eating habits.
This goal has proven to be an admirable, yet ambitious feat.
HOW IT BEGAN
In the beginning, it was difficult to find space (a vacant lot) in the inner city with owners willing to let us build.
As a grassroots organization and true community development advocates, we were blessed with the opportunity to help Ms. Limehouse, an elder community member, with a big problem: Ms. Limehouse was the rightful inheritor of a dilapidated house on a quarter acre lot in West Tampa, and she was being fined on upkeep and maintenance ordinances.
To make a long story short, our organization performed corrective title work to get the property out of probate and into Ms. Limehouse’s name. In addition, we advocated on her behalf to the City to have all fines waived against the property--and they were! Urban Progress Alliance also contracted with her to demolish the dilapidated house for 70% of market rate. Demolishing the house was a decision Ms. Limehouse believed would most relieve the burden. She was very happy with the results of the challenging ordeal!
THE BLESSING
Fully aware of our goals & intentions, and that we were still in need of space to build the urban farm, Ms. Limehouse happily obliged in turning the space over to us for use. We drafted a simple lease and right of agency agreement with her, and have been maintaining the upkeep while working to build the urban farm vision ever since.
THE CHALLENGES
The first set of challenges came from zoning applications from the City of Tampa. It’s not that the City of Tampa doesn’t want us to succeed; the city code and ordinance structure isn’t particularly accommodating for urban agriculture. Fortunately, we have a seasoned architect on our team and through that connect, have met some very nice (and helpful) people that worked in the Land and Development department. They helped us find ways around certain application hurdles. We succeeded in getting the “Special 1 Use” zoning application approved (it’s required to build urban farms in certain neighborhoods).
A bigger challenge has been receiving grant funds for a start up urban farm. Our experience and feedback from granting sources is that previously functioning urban farms usually receive funds because they have the metrics to prove that they have a viable project.
As a solution, we have scaled down and revamped our start up approach. We are slowly constructing a very basic garden with raised donated materials-- but We Still Need Water! A city water tap and irrigation system will cost us $2200. We'll need the water cut on as soon as possible in order to maintain what we grow.
(We will construct these types of conventional raised beds for start up.)
Of course, Covid-19 has also stifled some of our efforts, but we are determined to build this Community Garden, and have made appropriate adjustments to safely continue with our endeavors as we navigate through the uncharted waters of the time we are all living in.
HELP US BUILD THIS VISION!
This project, The Tampa Heritage Community Garden, envisions not only a project of high functionality, but also a place of soul and solace, confront and consolation. It is important to us that the aesthetics speak to the spirit of anyone who visits. This garden will serve as an oasis of organic fresh produce within an urban atmosphere.
The garden will feature conventional raised garden beds, rainwater harvesting systems, high producing aeroponics systems, solar panels, composting and art pieces rendered by local artists.
With an emphasis on children’s education, this garden will engage children by providing a dynamic environment to observe, discover, experiment, nurture and learn. Gardens are living laboratories where lessons are drawn from real life experiences and fueled by a child’s innate curiosity and enthusiasm, resulting in an environment that encourages them to become active participants in the learning process.
This community garden is an opportunity for people from a variety of backgrounds to not only gain access to healthy food, but also to grow food from their indigenous cultures. Food and sharing meals have immense importance in a variety of cultures; this project’s emphasis on growing, cooking, and sharing foods from a variety of backgrounds provides an opportunity for celebrating multicultural diversity.
With $35,000, we can fully build this high functioning and beautiful garden with all the bells and whistles. Every dollar you donate will be used for this healing space.
We're raising money to help build an Educational Community Garden! This garden will feature conventional and hydroponic gardening systems!
The garden will serve to provide easily accessible organic fruits and vegetables to the community, improving our quality of health and fighting food insecurity!
One of the primary purposes of this garden is to educate all ages of children on basic growing skills and cultivate a spirit of self-sufficiency within them. Gardening engages kids by providing a dynamic environment to observe, discover, experiment, nurture and learn.
We need your help raising money so that we can obtain garden tools, materials and water irrigation so that Urban Progress Alliance can continue building the garden!
If you want to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit our website:
https://www.upaall.com/get-involved-donate
INTRO
Hello! I am Andre Hill Jr, an Environmental Sustainability major and the Operations Director of Urban Progress Alliance Inc. The vision for this community garden in West Tampa began 2 years ago with the idea that a community can provide itself with fresh produce and adopt healthier eating habits.
This goal has proven to be an admirable, yet ambitious feat.
HOW IT BEGAN
In the beginning, it was difficult to find space (a vacant lot) in the inner city with owners willing to let us build.
As a grassroots organization and true community development advocates, we were blessed with the opportunity to help Ms. Limehouse, an elder community member, with a big problem: Ms. Limehouse was the rightful inheritor of a dilapidated house on a quarter acre lot in West Tampa, and she was being fined on upkeep and maintenance ordinances.
To make a long story short, our organization performed corrective title work to get the property out of probate and into Ms. Limehouse’s name. In addition, we advocated on her behalf to the City to have all fines waived against the property--and they were! Urban Progress Alliance also contracted with her to demolish the dilapidated house for 70% of market rate. Demolishing the house was a decision Ms. Limehouse believed would most relieve the burden. She was very happy with the results of the challenging ordeal!
THE BLESSING
Fully aware of our goals & intentions, and that we were still in need of space to build the urban farm, Ms. Limehouse happily obliged in turning the space over to us for use. We drafted a simple lease and right of agency agreement with her, and have been maintaining the upkeep while working to build the urban farm vision ever since.
THE CHALLENGES
The first set of challenges came from zoning applications from the City of Tampa. It’s not that the City of Tampa doesn’t want us to succeed; the city code and ordinance structure isn’t particularly accommodating for urban agriculture. Fortunately, we have a seasoned architect on our team and through that connect, have met some very nice (and helpful) people that worked in the Land and Development department. They helped us find ways around certain application hurdles. We succeeded in getting the “Special 1 Use” zoning application approved (it’s required to build urban farms in certain neighborhoods).
A bigger challenge has been receiving grant funds for a start up urban farm. Our experience and feedback from granting sources is that previously functioning urban farms usually receive funds because they have the metrics to prove that they have a viable project.
As a solution, we have scaled down and revamped our start up approach. We are slowly constructing a very basic garden with raised donated materials-- but We Still Need Water! A city water tap and irrigation system will cost us $2200. We'll need the water cut on as soon as possible in order to maintain what we grow.
(We will construct these types of conventional raised beds for start up.)
Of course, Covid-19 has also stifled some of our efforts, but we are determined to build this Community Garden, and have made appropriate adjustments to safely continue with our endeavors as we navigate through the uncharted waters of the time we are all living in.
HELP US BUILD THIS VISION!
This project, The Tampa Heritage Community Garden, envisions not only a project of high functionality, but also a place of soul and solace, confront and consolation. It is important to us that the aesthetics speak to the spirit of anyone who visits. This garden will serve as an oasis of organic fresh produce within an urban atmosphere.
The garden will feature conventional raised garden beds, rainwater harvesting systems, high producing aeroponics systems, solar panels, composting and art pieces rendered by local artists.
With an emphasis on children’s education, this garden will engage children by providing a dynamic environment to observe, discover, experiment, nurture and learn. Gardens are living laboratories where lessons are drawn from real life experiences and fueled by a child’s innate curiosity and enthusiasm, resulting in an environment that encourages them to become active participants in the learning process.
This community garden is an opportunity for people from a variety of backgrounds to not only gain access to healthy food, but also to grow food from their indigenous cultures. Food and sharing meals have immense importance in a variety of cultures; this project’s emphasis on growing, cooking, and sharing foods from a variety of backgrounds provides an opportunity for celebrating multicultural diversity.
With $35,000, we can fully build this high functioning and beautiful garden with all the bells and whistles. Every dollar you donate will be used for this healing space.
Organizer
Andre Hill
Organizer
Tampa, FL