Last updated: March 2025
The Taylor Park Community Garden is part of the After School Tutorial Program and is managed by the Methodist Inner City Mission. Located in the Maysville and Oakdale areas of Mobile, Alabama, the garden primarily serves children from these communities. After receiving homework assistance, students from elementary and middle schools participate in the Gardening Program, where volunteers teach various gardening concepts and engage the children in hands-on activities. Taylor Park Community Garden is part of a network of community gardeners and urban farmers across the city called Mobile Urban Growers, which aims to increase access to fresh produce for everyone to contribute to tackling the high rate of diabetes (Mobile has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the United States) and food desert in Mobile (over 25% of Mobilians live in a food desert as defined by the USDA without access to fresh fruits or vegetables) (Ref 2). Taylor Park became part of the Mobile Urban Growers (MUG) after it began its operations around 2016 (Ref 2). The garden is open to the entire community, with Mobile Urban Growers and Mobile County Master Gardeners (a volunteer recruitment program) providing support and guidance. The produce harvested is shared among gardeners, participating children, local residents, and the Food Pantry at Central Presbyterian Church. (Ref 1)
Gardening Program involving children from the neighborhood ar Taylor Park Community Garden
Mobile Urban growers website, accessed on 15/08/2024
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Community gardens and allotments
- Community gardens
Key challenges
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Improving physical health
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Environmental education
- Sense of community and community engagement
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Economic development: agriculture
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable consumption
- Sustainable production
- Food scarcity / security
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Agriculture/ crop production
- Resource Scarcity and Competition
- Food insecurity due to disruptions in food production and distribution
Key priorities
Social Justice and community
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of areas for food production (community gardens, allotments), Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Educational and awareness raising programs
Project objectives
- Providing homework assistance to children from elementary and middle schools in the communities (Ref 1).
- Teaching to the children various gardening concepts and activities (Ref 1).
- Increasing access to fresh produce for the local community contributes to tackling the high rate of diabetes and food deserts in Mobile (Ref 2).
Implementation activities
The project includes the following activities:
- picking up children from school to take them to the garden (Ref 1)
- Homework assistance (Ref 1)
- Organization of gardening teaching and activities for children (Ref 1)
- Distribution of the harvests among gardeners, participating children, local residents, and the Food Pantry at Central Presbyterian Church (Ref 1).
- Members the NGO Mobile Urban Grower gather to maintain the garden on Saturdays (Ref 1)
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Young people and children
Governance
Management set-up
- Led by non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Non-government organisation/civil society
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Dissemination of information and education
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
- the Methodist Inner City Mission (religious NGO): manages the After School Tutorial Program (Ref 1)
- Garden volunteers (citizens): manage the Gardening Program (Ref 1)
- Mobile Urban Growers (NGO): manage the garden (Ref 1)
- Mobile County Master Gardeners (NGO): assist and offer advice for the garden (Ref 1)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Type of enablers
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Unknown
Type of funding
- Unknown
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Expected increased green space area
Economic impacts
- Generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
- Expected generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
- Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
- Achieved increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved access to urban green space
- Achieved improved access to urban green space
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Achieved increased opportunities for social interaction
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Achieved increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Achieved increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Achieved gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Improved physical health
- Expected improved physical health
- Education
- Increased support for education and scientific research
- Achieved increased support for education and scientific research
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Unknown
References
1.
Mobile Urban Growers (n.d.). Taylor Park official webpage. Mobile, AL: Mobile Urban Growers, p. 1 Accessed on August 14, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Mobile Urban Growers (n.d.). Mobile Urban Growers website homepage. Mobile, AL: Mobile Urban Growers, p. 2 Accessed on August 14, 2024, [Source link];
3.
City of Mobile (n.d.). City of Mobile website - Taylor Park webpage. Mobile, AL: City of Mobile, p. 1 Accessed on August 14, 2024, [Source link];
4.
point2homes.com (n.d.). Maysville Demographics - point2homes.com. Mobile, AL: point2homes.com, Accessed on August 14, 2024,;
5.
City-Data.com (n.d.). Maysville demographics 2 - City-Data.com. Mobile, AL: City-Data.com, Accessed on August 14, 2024, [Source link];
6.
point2homes.com (n.d.). Oakdale demographics 1 - point2homes.com. Mobile, AL: point2homes.com, Accessed on August 14, 2024, [Source link];
7.
Areavibe.com (n.d.). Oakdale demographics 2 - Areavibe.com. Mobile, AL: Areavibe.com, Accessed on August 14, 2024, [Source link];
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.