1-year Community Grant Recipient – The Green Team
This community participated in a 1-year HERCULES Community Grant Program.
Background:
The Green Team received a 1-year HERCULES Community Grant to launch Pollinators and More: Environmental Justice in Your Own Backyard, a partnership with Peace Prep Academy in the English Avenue neighborhood.
The project focused on educating students about pollinators, environmental justice, and the links between environmental conditions and children’s health—using hands-on gardening as the entry point.
What did they do?
Earth Day Pollinator Planting at Peace Prep
The team began by creating a sustainable pollinator garden at Peace Prep Academy using perennials, herbs, and small fruit and vegetable
Earth Day 2024: Pictured volunteers are planting pollinator-friendly plants along a sidewalk.
plants. On Earth Day 2024, they hosted two sessions with 1st graders to introduce them to pollination and their local environment. The garden was designed to be low maintenance while offering year-round educational value, and it now serves as a lasting learning tool and green space for the school.
Community Integration and Environmental Health Education
The Peace Prep garden was included in the English Avenue “Green Loop,” a network of parks and gardens throughout the neighborhood. The project centered environmental health as a key theme—helping students understand how their health is impacted by the environment around them and what steps they can take to make change. Educational materials, like Msitu: The Old Growth Forest by Spelman graduate Serena Echols, helped deepen these lessons during school-based sessions.
Keeping It Going!
The Green Team is planning a large fall planting that will involve students from all grade levels. They aim to expand the pollinator garden at Peace Prep and add up to seven more garden beds at Lindsay Street Park. They also hope to host a health day with Emory to share research on air quality and heat around the school. Through these next steps, the Green Team is building on its success to grow both the gardens and the community’s environmental awareness.