CONNECTRegrowing Altadena: Grants for Plants
As the only full scale retail garden center located in the unincorporated city of Altadena, Plant Material plans to help our community by distributing native and regionally appropriate plants at no cost to residents using this funding. By setting up a funnel to direct funds back to our neighbors in the Altadena burn area, we desire to help those in need begin to grow back gardens of hope and resilience.
What is the primary issue area that your application will impact?
Wildfire relief
In which areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?
Other (below)
In what stage of innovation is this project, program, or initiative?
Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)
What is your understanding of the issue that you are seeking to address?
My family also lost our home in the Eaton Fire. Overnight, my wife and I lost almost 8 years of dreaming, planting and tending in our garden. Now the dirt lot is bare but not lifeless. For some homeowners, a garden may not be something that they can afford when the exorbitant costs of rebuilding a home takes precedence. We know gardens bring joy, tranquility and were a huge part of the Altadena community. We can help our community start building back the beautiful gardens and habitats that were once lovingly tended to before. Plant Material will focus on species that can help repair the land and protect us in the future. We work with native and regionally appropriate plants that thrive in the Altadena area and are not considered invasive or resource intensive.
Describe the project, program, or initiative this grant will support to address the issue.
The funding will go directly back to the community. We plan to offer tiered financial access in the form of plants for homeowners who need it. Our shop at 3081 Lincoln Ave. is at the edge of the burn zone and will be an important hub for distributing plants back into the community. We plan to work with home owners at the shop and help them come up with a selection of native and regionally appropriate plants and trees for their yards. We also acknowledge that support and funding will become harder to access for homeowners when a garden might be the last thing they are able to get to after rebuilding a home.
The pandemic also taught us that sometimes demand for certain plants can often outpace supply. Once the stock is gone, it can take years before the newer crops grow into something that a homeowner can use. We intend to use a small portion of the grant to reserve and allocate certain plants we know our community will be looking for to make sure they have access when they need it.
Describe how Los Angeles County will be different if your work is successful.
If you have driven the streets of Altadena lately, you may have found yourself quickly in tears. Day by day, the homes, the trees, the gardens are being reduced to dirt lots. Just a few days ago I discovered they removed a healthy oak tree and scrapped a portion of my garden that was in tact while clearing my neighbors lot. More and more of the community is being reduce to something unrecognizable. We strive to help our neighbors change that and offer up hope and inspiration as we rebuild Altadena.
Approximately how many people will be impacted by this project, program, or initiative?
Direct Impact: 65
Indirect Impact: 1,000