Small Plot, Big Vision: ITNAC Marks Earth Day With Sustainability Project

The Non Governmental Organisation, Is There Not A Cause (ITNAC) commemorated Earth Day by giving back, and it began with transforming an empty plot of land into a green space for the community to enjoy. At the small corner plot of empty land located at the corner of Vidal and Anderson Streets in St. James, volunteers armed with shovels, boots, and broad hats, divided the land into lots while others ploughed the land. According to ITNAC Founder Avonelle Hector-Joseph, her team's Earth Day goal was to show how a small space can be transformed and make a big difference, not just for the community but for the planet. She said the plot, which doesn't look like much now, will be transformed into the first community garden. "A lot of time, people think about gardening and farming, they think about large expanse, and it has, that is, of course, the idea to be able to grow food on a larger scale, but we also want to let people know that, hey, listen, if you have a small space, you can work it, and you can make it profitable. So it will be helping our many projects with single moms, low-income family, some stuff we could sell, some stuff we could give away, and just start a trend of sustainable farming." Sustainability was the key word of farmer and author Aleya Fraser, when she described the impact this garden will have for the community. "People are really excited as they walk past, they have questions and we get to ask, answer them. A few of the neighbours already are helping out with water and wanting to spend time helping us get the garden going." Ms. Fraser is experienced in urban farming in her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, and was pleased to volunteer her time and expertise to ITNAC for this project. "We're building a raised bed garden out of cinder blocks where we're going to bring in soil because we're not going to plant into the soil here on the lot, we're going to bring in good compost, manure, top soil to plant into. We're also going to plant some chives, some shadon beni and other seasoning plants so that they can eventually turn this into a product that they can sell so this will be not only a beautiful space but it should also be sustainable and help ITNAC further their goals." The garden will serve as a reminder of what a mixture of vision, hard work, and love for community can do for years to come.