Pine Manor Community Garden

Pine Manor Community Garden opened my eyes to the challenges that face Lee County’s urban poor. The urban poor have limited access to technology needed to help them locate and find jobs. Perhaps, the biggest problem facing this community is the lack of availability of fresh and healthy foods. This is known as a food desert. The nearest grocery store for them is about 20 minutes away.  Since many of them rely on others for transportation, it’s an all day affair just to get groceries.  After hearing these challenges they face it made me more appreciative of my environment, which I tend to take for granted. The realization that this urban food desert exists less than 20 minutes away from the FGCU campus was surprising. The fact that they can be found so close to affluent communities made me wonder why the problem is so overlooked.

Urban agriculture can help with the problems faced by the urban poor. Gardens like the one I observed at Pine Manor can help offset the challenges the community faces with access to a healthy food supply. The modern agricultural industry struggles with issues such as resource depletion and contamination of the ground and water supply by the prevalent use of pesticides. Small urban gardens do not create the stress on the environment that big agriculture does. When urban gardens replace abandoned land within the city they create a more efficient and productive use of the land resources. Increased utilization of urban gardens can help negate the desertification process that large-scale agriculture can create.

It is entirely possible that I may be employed in a school district that contains an urban poor population. I must be sensitive to the issues faced by my students that apply to nutrition, transportation, technology limitations and socioeconomic stresses. The needs of the urban poor are different from mainstream society. If you don’t have personal experience with these particular needs it is important to learn as much as you can about them in order to be a more effective teacher.

Pine Manor Community Garden

Individual garden plots

Center of the garden 

Beautiful red flower

My favorite plant apart of the garden