Rebel Garden Expansion

Green space, park access, and trees

South LA

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

South Central is a food desert and a breath desert, where residents—especially youth—lack green and gardening spaces, essential resources for residents’ mental and physical health (National Health Foundation). YJC stewards a 38,472 sq ft community space, Chuco’s Justice Center—a movement-building hub that includes memorial altars, mutual aid resources, and now, the Rebel Garden. Created in partnership with Ruckus Roots and sustained by YJC youth, the garden offers a rare, restorative green space for relaxation, learning, and nourishment. However, Chuco’s is located in the urban heat island of South Central, and the Rebel Garden is composed of raised plant beds on asphalt, leading to overheating of plants and evaporative loss. This is compounded by the Garden’s lack of irrigation systems and overhead shading, limiting plant’s growth capacity and variety. Our current garden support staff member’s solution is to water the Garden at night, which is unsustainable for her working capacity.

The Rebel Garden is a connection to nature, restoration, relaxation, play, healing, and beauty despite the struggle. It is also a place to cultivate food for system-impacted youth and the community and grow our business for the sale of healthy food. The Rebel Garden helps us envision a new world where all beings can co-exist, whether you are a butterfly or a teenager. It is a human right to have access to green space and eat local grown food, grown by the community.

This funding will support us to expand the garden’s capacity and sustainability by adding the following program components:
Hire and train a part-time Garden Caretaker and upskill our current Garden support member to lead daily maintenance, youth supervision, and seasonal planting schedules as a Teacher.
Engage 20 youth in structured garden workdays, workshops, and planting sessions, including monthly training on urban gardening, cooking, and herbal medicine.
Install an irrigation system to support sustainable, year-round growing and reduce nighttime watering.
Break asphalt and convert 300–500 square feet of the garden into in-ground planting beds to expand growing capacity.
Deliver 3 community garden education events in partnership with Ruckus Roots, led by youth, open to 50+ community members.

The Garden’s expansion will inspire more people to maintain it in a way that honors every individual, helps people re-connect to the land and ancestors, and heal. YJC youth will grow more healthy food for community members, generate more income, learn how to cook what they grow, and spread more knowledge about urban food systems and gardening to others. Specifically, we will see:
28 youth engage in gardening education and leadership
3x greater growing space and increased plant diversity.
Increased daily use of the garden for wellness and education
3 harvest events to feed youth and community members

Long term, the Rebel Garden will serve as a community space that LA County residents travel to visit and maintain. The health and wellness of organizers and community in S Central will support LA County residents at large, reducing the harms of systems of incarceration/family separation and providing nourishment.