By Catherine Butcher

The Sierra Club's founder, John Muir, said: "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike." Take this truth and apply it to the inner city. Where does one find beauty in the inner city and low-income neighborhoods? How does one protect the beauty found there and help create new beauty? Without a doubt, beautiful spaces still exist even in the communities that have borne a disproportionate amount of the environmental burdens in our society. And certainly more beautiful spaces can be created. One may wonder how this should be achieved. The Sierra Club advocates and supports working with low-income and inner city communities on the following principles "the Club will enter a community to provide grassroots organizing assistance only when invited to do so. Once invited, the Sierra Club works as a supporting partner, respecting the rights of the community to define its own agenda, encouraging the empowerment of the members of the community, and fostering community self-reliance." On this model, the Sierra Club Environmental Justice program has awarded a special projects grant for beautification and community support to a partnership between EarthMatters Tennessee and Sierra Club.

Details of the project below are based on an edited version of the grant submitted by David Padgett to the Sierra Club Environmental Justice Program on behalf of EarthMatters. The sentences are almost direct quotes from this excellent grant application.

The project is titled the "Gateway to Heritage Community Garden Project." Its primary purpose is to restore a community garden and urban green space to the Jefferson Street community. In the early 90s a community garden was located in that area. However, after a tragic fire and the loss of the community leader, the site was abandoned. It is our hope that with money provided in part by the Sierra Club and the collaborative effort of many groups, the community can once have a place to beautify, raise flowers and/or vegetables for their families, local food banks, and their friends and neighbors.

The site of this project is the community and business district of Jefferson Street, one of Nashville's most unique inner city communities. Within the program area are three major traditionally African American institutions of higher education, Tennessee State University, Fisk University, and Meharry Medical College. The central area of the project is near Citizen's Bank, the oldest continuously operating African American bank in the U.S., and a main entry to the new General Hospital and Meharry Medical College campus. Historic Jefferson Street is not only the major thoroughfare through the community, but is a redeveloping commercial district.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: The North Nashville neighborhood is predominately African American with an average annual household income of approximately $12,000; the Nashville average is over $36,000 per year. The population is over 95 percent minority according to the 2000 Census. Approximately 44.0 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line. The area has suffered since the 1970 construction of the Interstate 40 bridge. The highway corridor sliced through the community leaving its residents physically, psychologically, and economically isolated. Many once-bustling businesses closed, and hundreds of people moved to other parts of town. Infrastructure decay soon followed and continues to be a persistent problem. The area is also plagued by abandoned and/or under-used properties. The many vacant lots have become attractive areas for illegal dumping. Poorly maintained abandoned lots also serve as gathering places for drug peddlers, prostitutes, and substance abusers.

In recent years efforts have been taken to revitalize the community. The Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency (MDHA} has invested 2.1 million dollars in private residence, rental development, and business loans to improve the infrastructure and street-scape of the historic Jefferson Street corridor. Previously vacant properties at several prominent intersections are now being refurbished, but for every lot that is being rebuilt, there are at least two that are blighted.

A recent joint study conducted by the Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Care Center, Meharry Medical College, and the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health 2010 (REACH 2010) (www.cdc.gov/reach2010) project found North Nashville to have an alarming over-representation of people with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The lack of exercise and unhealthy food consumption are major contributors to this disparity. Studies have shown that persons who participate in empowering outdoor activities, such as gardening, recycling, and organic composting, reap more measurable psychological, emotional, spiritual, and health benefits than those who do not participate in such activities.

PROPOSED SOLUTION/S: Our primary goal is to provide positive educational and outdoor experiences for the citizens of North Nashville by establishing a series of community gardens and pocket parks within the economically depressed area. In doing so we expect to build relationships with different groups of people to foster economic and community development along the historic Jefferson Street corridor. A long-time, prominent business/property owner has agreed to donate the use of two parcels for the community gardens/commons areas (Figure 1). Immediate and nearby neighbors have agreed to volunteer, support, and utilize the sites.

The plan is for this garden/commons area to beautify the Jefferson Street corridor. The main site (Figure 2), located across from historic Citizen's Bank, will house a water fountain, raised bed gardens, a lighted stone sign, and benches. Garden volunteers will also adopt the street corridor from 21st to 28th Avenue North, and keep the street free of litter. Contemporary recycling bins will be installed at high traffic areas and cared for by student volunteers from various young peoples' organizations and associations.

The community will take ownership of the project and spurt enormous energy for others to increase the care and health of their individual homes and properties. At the same time, monthly clean-up/spruce-up activities will be scheduled. This project will also memorialize two or more prominent Jefferson Street legacies and proudly serve as a beautiful entryway to historic Meharry Medical College and Metro General Hospital. Many universities have found that the addition of gardens and landscaping to inner-city communities is highly correlated with an increase in community health awareness and pride. Thus, this project should assist in improving the health and welfare of people in this community. Also, local youth, participating in gardening activities will receive a sense of accomplishment that is difficult for them to gain from the somewhat negative influences around them.

We strongly believe that this project will make a significant difference in the lives of many people and that it provides a conservation and community self-esteem ethic that is presently missing from many of these urban residents' lives.

STATEMENT OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN PROPOSAL AND WORK PLAN:

Community Involvement

Organizations and businesses who are committed to the success of this project include: REACH 2010, Neighborhood Improvement Project, Neighborhood Justice Center, Tennessee Aquatic Program, the Tennessee State University (TSU) Agriculture Education Office, Creative Artists of Tennessee, Citizen's Bank, Miles Barbershop, Kijiji's Coffee House, the TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY (TSU) Geographical Information Sciences Laboratory, various Farmers Market vendors, and students from Meharry Medical College, TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY (TSU) , and Fisk University. Each of the above-named entities will provide some sort of support through enrolling volunteers, facilitated training, in-kind donations, or financial contributions.

Initial research and consultation have taken place with the Jefferson United Merchants Partnership (JUMP). Under the direction of Ms. Sharon Hurt, the overall mission of JUMP promotes unity and goodwill and serves as a catalyst for social and economic change in North Nashville. The organization promotes Jefferson Street as a viable destination for tourism and commerce, and encourages working with area colleges, universities, and merchants. Participation by JUMP will come through monthly clean-up activities, scheduled events, and public gatherings at the sites. The JUMP organizational newsletter, distributed quarterly, will report to the public our progress, accomplishments, and activities. JUMP also plans to conduct neighborhood livability audits to ensure that the Gateway site continues to be properly maintained and aesthetically pleasing.

Additional resources will come from local churches and social services programs. Fisk, Meharry, and TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY (TSU) each has community outreach programs that utilize the strengths of their student bodies. JUMP has made inroads with area churches including a 2001 Seeds of Spring campaign where 200-400 packets of organic flower and vegetable seeds were distributed among each congregation. An additional 10,000 packets were included in the Earth Day edition of the Nashville Scene, a very popular alternative newspaper. EarthMatters Tennessee has been active in starting over two dozen garden and composting sites in and around Nashville. Sizwe Herring has certification in Permaculture and volunteer management, and in September, 2002 was named "Environmental Educator of the Year" by the Tennessee Environmental Council (TEC).

Sierra Club Involvement

The Middle Tennessee Sierra Club Group is proud to be a participant in this project. We have agreed to publicize the collaborative projects in our Tennes-Sierran. We have offered volunteer support for outings, work days and work shops. With the grant, we will be purchasing needed materials for planters and garden beds and the plants to fill them. We have agreed to lead activities in the area, as yet to be determined. The recyclables collected along Jefferson Street will be taken to the Sierra Club-managed drop off at the Elysian Fields drop-off site located at the Kroger store on Nolensville Road. Additionally, we will offer a Sierra Club program on this site and the issue of environmental justice.

The Middle Tennessee Group is proud to kick off this project with an appreciation luncheon and open house at Kijiji's Coffeehouse on Sunday, December 8th, from 1 - 3 pm. We invite all interested persons to attend. Additionally, we would welcome any assistance any member (or nonmember!). Now is the time to build foundations for the future of our planet and to participate in alternative ways to fulfill the Sierra Club purpose "to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; and to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives."