Farm & Food Sovereignty
Furness Garden
In the spring 2018 right when we were planning to start building Furness Community school garden, we found toxic lead in the garden area. Students started a school petition which was signed by over 200 students, and lead a Toxic Teach-Out at Furness school. On August 16th, 2018, students testified in front of School Board members to demand 130K funding for the garden area that was contaminated with lead. As a result, we won 130K to remediate the lead in Furness Community Garden. This has turned the garden into a rallying symbol for what a Healthy School can be and the fight for building the garden is a fight for a healthier and more empowered community.
Since 2019 after the area was finally fixed, we’ve worked with many classes at Furness. We grow in twenty raised beds. Over 120 students have been trained on how to grow food. Furness Community School Garden will continue to be a community and school centered garden to promote healthy living, intergenerational relationships, student leadership, and community school participation.
Our Work
POPPYN Presents Vietlead
In this segment, POPPYN visits Vietlead, a new grassroots organization based in Philly & South Jersey that focuses on sustainability, and self-determination for the Vietnamese and Southeast Asian communities in the region. This segment is part of POPPYN's episode on environmental justice.
BYOP Diaries: Roots of Resistance
Listen to voices about the importance of the garden.
Community garden sprouts more than plants
South Philly Review — While, at first glance, it may seem the homemade harvest is an ornament to the recess yard, the sprouts’ roots — and leaves — reach beyond what merely meets the eye, stretching into emotional healing and social justice.
The Philadelphia Citizen — Sixteen-year-old Tommy Ngeth planned to spend last summer playing video games. But when his sister recruited him for a job with a Southeast Asian community organization, he figured, sure, might as well make some money. He couldn’t have guessed that the experience would bring him to where he is now: Planning a multigenerational cultural garden project behind a South Philadelphia high school.
Funders
