Seven botanic gardens received support in 2023 to build capacity and leadership in urban agriculture through a partnership of the United States Botanic Garden (USBG), the American Public Gardens Association (Association), and Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG). The Urban Agriculture Resilience Program Capstone program awarded each garden $50,000 along with one-on-one mentoring support to sustain and institutionalize each garden’s urban agriculture work. Additionally, the group met quarterly as a cohort for training throughout 2023, including a two-day, in-person training at CBG’s Windy City Harvest program.
Recipients of the 2023 UARP Capstone awards are:
- Atlanta Botanical Garden, Georgia
- Desert Botanical Garden, Arizona
- Garfield Park Conservatory and Gardens, Illinois
- Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Minnesota
- Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Pennsylvania
- Queens Botanical Garden, New York
- University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Garden and Nichols Arboretum, Michigan
The Urban Agriculture Resilience Program began in 2020 as a way for the USBG and the Association to help public gardens continue urban agriculture and food growing programs facing funding and capacity challenges due to COVID-19. The program was expanded in 2021 and 2022 to support community engagement in urban agriculture education and food growing through collaborations between public gardens and local community organizations. Since its inception, the program has provided financial awards to 80 urban agriculture projects in 30 states and Washington, D.C.
The USBG and CBG have collaborated for five years to build capacity in urban agriculture at public gardens and partner organizations through development of an Urban Agriculture Toolkit and related trainings online and in person around the country.
Learn about the 2020 Urban Agriculture Resilience Program, the 2021 Program, and the 2022 Program >
