Youth
Organics Gets Going!
by Sonia Vera-Leon
As
a new resident of the Capital District, a member of AmeriCorps and
Youth
Organics (YO!), and a Grand
Street
resident, I would like to share my first impressions. In short, I am
amazed by
what I stumbled upon here. The Grand Street neighborhood is a
vibrant, unique community
that should serve as an example for urban development.
The
neighborhood itself is dense and walkable. Parents can send their kids
to
school in a radical, free-thinking environment, in their own
neighborhood. Everyone
knows each other, and everyone seems to be helping one another. People
share
cars with each other, have the option of living in collective housing
for
affordable rent, and many residents partake in “dinner collectives.”
The
outdoor bread oven on Wilbur
Street provides an attractive, public space
that
anyone can use. The community even has its own bank where people can
keep their
savings and take out personal loans.
It
is this kind of community that allows projects like Grand Street
Community Arts’
(GSCA) Youth Organics to flourish. YO! is a project of GSCA that does
urban
gardening in the South End of Albany with local teenagers. We provide
South End
residents with fresh organic produce, while at the same time educating
South
End teenagers and their families about food justice, climate change and
other
issues that affect them directly.
This
year Youth Organics has three AmeriCorps volunteers including myself,
Sonia
Vera-Leon. Rana Morris is also a new AmeriCorps volunteer, and Jess
Oppenheimer
is in her second year with AmeriCorps as Youth Organics’ project
coordinator. Recently,
YO! was awarded $11,000 from Albany County
to build more gardens
in the South End and conduct community outreach to create more food
security.
One of these sites will be the Harriet Tubman
Free School, located on Elizabeth Street,
where
last year’s crew leader Lindsey Rogowski will be heading the garden
construction.
We’re also planning to make Healthy Cooking classes available for
interested
Harriet Tubman students.
Helping to
Fight Climate Change
While
urban gardening has a broad impact on our environment and society,Youth
Organics is also part of the movement to mitigate climate change. Over
the last
few months I’ve had the opportunity to attend several forums and
conferences on
food security and climate change. These meetings have helped me realize
the
full scope of what Youth Organics is working for.
YO!
is turning unused urban plots into attractive, engaging and beneficial
public
spaces. This is significant for several reasons.
Transportation
accounts for one third of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States, and the U.S.
is the largest
emitter worldwide of greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Youth
Organics
is working against “expansive development” and for “compact
development.” And
we are providing fresh vegetables for people within walking distance,
in a
neighborhood where residents would otherwise have to drive to get
produce.
Thanks
to the Free School,
Youth Organics and Grand Street Community Arts will be holding a Secret
Café on
February 2, from 6:30 to 9 pm, during which we will transform the Free School
on Elm Street
into a café and serve a sit-down dinner. Entertainment and a
dance party will
follow! Childcare will be available. Money raised will go to youth arts
and
garden programs. To make a reservation, please call 463-2222 or e-mail
us at youthorganics@gmail.com.
GSCA has
new program coordinator, Sarah Wolfsont, with whom we are working
closely — so
keep an eye open for updates on upcoming youth art programs.
And
finally, Youth Organics now has office space in the Social Justice Center,
on Central Avenue.
This is exciting, because we will have a space to meet and work
together in the
same building as other politically active groups — not to mention that
the
center just received a grant to build a green roof!
Hope
to see you on February 2 at the Secret Café! A r
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