An old school in Birmingham’s Bush Hills is now an urban farm. Residents are thinking bigger
“The garden has given us this synergy,” Thompson said. “It’s a place that creates a sense of community.”
Richard Banks
WBHM
January 6, 2023
Excerpt:
The roots for the garden and farm go back to 2017.
“That’s when we asked Birmingham City Schools for permission to do something with the old elementary school property,” explained Walladean Streeter, president of the Bush Hills Neighborhood Association.
The school closed in 2008, after serving the community for eight decades. After that, it was broken into on numerous occasions and materials from the site were stolen.
Some area residents worried the vacant building was becoming a risk to the neighborhood. They also saw opportunity. BCS gave the group and its new nonprofit organization, Bush Hills Connections, a 50-year lease on the property.
In addition, the group applied for and received U.S. Department of Agriculture certification, as well as rezoning from the city of Birmingham, that allowed the property to be designated an official urban farm. With a few small grants and borrowed farm equipment, Bush Hills Connections planted their first crops in 2018.
While only employees and a few select volunteers work on the actual urban farm, area residents wanting to tend their own small gardens can do so on the community garden side of the property. There, they grow fruits, vegetables and flowers, as well as work on other projects such as a goldfish pond.
