Black Hands, Gray Lands, Green Spaces: Advocating for Urban Gardens

Join Karen Washington for a talk about her work in urban agriculture. As the co-founder of Black Urban Growers (BUGS), an organization of volunteers committed to building networks and community support for growers in both urban and rural settings, Washington has promoted urban farming as a way for all city dwellers to access fresh, locally grown food.

As a community gardener and Board Member of the New York Botanical Garden, Washington worked with Bronx neighborhoods to turn empty lots into community gardens, filled with vegetables, flowers, and chickens. As a member of the La Familia Verde Community Garden Coalition, she helped launch a City Farms Market, bringing garden vegetables to her neighbors. She was voted one of the 100 most influential African Americans in the US by Ebony magazine in 2012, and awarded the James Beard Leadership Award in 2014.

Recommended for ages 11+.

Supported by funds from the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) through the American Recovery Plan Act.