A coalition of Mobile agencies is betting that a garden can grow more than vegetables — it might keep young people on a better path.
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, a new program at Taylor Park Community Center, blends gardening with life-skills lessons for the city’s youth. Gardener Leo Denton of Mobile Urban Growers, who works directly with participants, said the curriculum goes beyond tending plants: this year’s lessons were drawn from materials used in the University of South Alabama’s psychology department.
Conflict resolution is woven into the garden work itself. “We need to weed out bullying, we need to weed out name calling in our lives, we need to nourish all the plants,” Denton said.
Marie Chestange, program director at Taylor Park Community Center, called the program a needed resource. Most of the children have no garden at home and are trying vegetables they’ve never encountered — and by her account, they mostly love it.
The young people are also leaving their mark beyond the beds, helping local artist Zach DePolo paint murals, including a recent piece honoring the Taylor Park band, The Marching Panthers, on the side of the community building. DePolo said the goal is to lift up the community’s music program and give focus to people and places that feel forgotten.
Mobile County Juvenile Court Judge Edmond Naman said the Taylor Park Community Garden will now be known as a place to heal and change your life, crediting the effort with making a real difference.
Partners include the Taylor Park Community Center, the Juvenile Court of Mobile County, the Family Intervention Team, the Mobile Police Department and Mobile Urban Growers.