Planting Positive Seeds, Nourishing Young Minds

Green Space, Park Access, and Trees

County of Los Angeles

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

Our understanding of the issue is that disadvantaged communities have less access to green space, parks, and trees. Furthermore, when poor communities of color do have access to green space, these spaces are not maintained as well as spaces in affluent areas. We prioritize child and family safety, as many 90813 parks (including the park where our garden is located) are challenged by large homeless encampments, public drug use, vandalism, and the destruction of public bathrooms. Such dangers keep families from coming out on the weekends to enjoy their local parks. Instead of visiting local parks, families either stay at home, or are forced to drive to parks in affluent neighborhoods. This is why we continue our work in the 90813 zip code, to provide positive enrichment, engaging activities, and a safe space for youth.

In 2020, we partnered with Long Beach Parks and Recreation to transform 10,000 sq. ft. of vacant land into a youth garden. Since then, we have built 40 raised garden beds for youth to grow food and take home to their families. Our garden addresses the issue of low access to green space by providing a safe, fun, educational garden for youth. The location is fenced for security, but provides a welcoming environment to youth (5-16), their families, and community members. We have Garden Adventures two Saturdays per month to provide free, hands-on enrichment, so youth can learn lifelong skills in gardening and nutrition. Our garden also provides free youth camps (in martial arts, creative art, and STEM), seasonal events, and a monthly food giveaway in partnership with the Foodbank of Southern California. We serve families all throughout Los Angeles County, including Long Beach, Compton, Carson, and South Gate.

We provide hands-on experiences at the garden that are otherwise unavailable to Los Angeles County residents. Our garden serves youth, families, college students, and the greater community by providing several educational opportunities. Our vision for success is to enrich youth with knowledge to improve their health, further their education whether in a trade school or university, and promote food sustainability. Our intended impact is to engage more youth in our Busy Hands = Busy Minds concept (using open-ended conversations and hands-on activities to enhance creativity and improve critical thinking and comprehension skills). We also offer paid internship opportunities to high school and college student, who request our organization for job references or letters of recommendation for graduate school. In the future, we hope to expand our garden to grow more food, offer additional activities to youth, and collaborate with city of Long Beach officials to assist the unhoused population.

Adventures to Dreams Enrichment measures its impact in the following ways: 1. We record the number of youth enrolled in our enrichment program. Attendance is measured by youth signing in at the beginning of our year-round Saturday Garden Adventures. 2. We record the number of families and total number of household members served by our monthly food giveaways. 3. We capture our impact through photographs, videos, and interviews with our youth and families. 4. We weigh the amount of food that youth grow and take home to their families. As of 2023, we have evidence that 50 youth enrolled have access to green space, hands-on enrichment, and the opportunity to grow their own food. On average we serve over 250 community members at our monthly food giveaways. We share photos and videos through our social media platforms multiple times per week. Each month, youth grow and take home 50 pounds of food, including a variety of organic fruits and vegetables.