The Growing Experience Community Environmental Resource Center

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

The Growing Experience (TGE) is a 7-acre urban farm located within the Carmelitos Public Housing Community. In 2014 and 2015, TGE launched several initiatives to expand service as a Sustainable Community Environmental Resource Center. These initiatives: 1) address growing demand for affordable access to sustainably grown, healthy produce; 2) provide employment and skills training opportunities in emerging sustainable industries of Urban Agriculture and Aquaponics; and 3) provide community education for county residents on water and resource conservation. The initiatives result in three complementary, replicable solutions. First is the development of an Aquaponics and Vertical Towers Growing System with the capacity to grow large volumes of fresh, leafy greens in a water-efficient closed loop system. Second is a Youth Urban Agriculture Training Program, which involves training low-income community youth and young adults in operations of the Aquaponics and Vertical Towers growing system, utilizing harvests to distribute produce for various venues in creation of a local food system. The third initiative is the installation of a Community Food Forest, which serves as a demonstration garden for the community on drought-tolerant landscaping with a unique focus on species of plants with an edible, herbal, or medicinal value.