September 20, 2024
September 20, 2024
I’ve co-led Mission North’s social impact program E3thos for a few years, but sometimes I still feel a coup de foudre, or lightning strike, when I learn about a nonprofit’s mission and impact.
That feeling was strong with City Blossoms, which creates access to safe, community-led green space for kids in Washington, D.C. Their work and Executive Director Rafael Woldeab’s passion for the mission made it an easy decision to award City Blossoms a $20,000 Impact Grant. (We distribute these grants to local organizations focused on education, equity, and the environment.)
I sat down with Rafael to talk about what makes City Blossoms’ approach to partnerships unique, how his team will grow their newest urban farm with the Impact Grant funding, and his evolution from seasonal intern to Executive Director.
I hope you feel the coup de foudre about City Blossoms, too.
Tell me about City Blossoms’ mission and impact in the 16 years since its founding.
City Blossoms dates back to the ’90s in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C., where our co-founder, Rebecca Lemos-Otero, started a garden designed to engage children. She empowered young people to decide what to grow and what art to create for the garden, and because of that, saw them return with their peers and families.
City Blossoms came to life from this – officially launching in 2008. Now, we support 30 school and community gardens at early childhood centers, K-12 schools, and neighborhoods in D.C. We engage 6,000 children and youth every year.
<split-lines>"We engage 6,000 children and youth every year."<split-lines>
What makes City Blossoms’ approach to building partnerships unique?
City Blossoms only engages in partnerships with communities where we are invited first. We never tell a community that they need our services.
Through our school and early childhood center partnerships, we develop sustainable trainings and resources in direct partnership with the entire school community, including families, teachers, administrative staff, and neighbors. This approach ensures these garden-based programs are self-sustaining, do not create dynamics of dependency, and can continue to thrive beyond our participation in the multi-year partnership.
<split-lines>"City Blossoms only engages in partnerships with communities where we are invited first. We never tell a community that they need our services."<split-lines>
What are you most proud of from City Blossoms over the last year?
We launched our first five-year strategic plan in 2024 after meeting with staff, the board, youth, community members, and educators. One of our main goals is to create 20 new school and community gardens by 2028.
How will your team use Mission North’s Impact Grant to support and grow City Blossoms’ new Farm at Ft. Stanton in Washington, D.C.’s Ward 8?
We’ll use the Impact Grant to purchase a whole list of materials. That includes lumber to build garden beds, an arbor, and wood for handmade signage, as well as mulch, soil, tools, outdoor classroom materials, and wellness-themed books for a garden library.
The grant will also help us cover staff time for the team that supports on-the-ground programming and community engagement like flyering in neighborhoods and tabling at other community events.
<split-lines>"We’ll use the Impact Grant to purchase a whole list of materials...(from) lumber to build garden beds, an arbor, and wood for handmade signage (and so much more)."<split-lines>
What impact will this have on the community?
One of the biggest impacts is in our work for climate resiliency, or supporting the communities that are most at-risk to climate change impacts. Green spaces directly support and mitigate those impacts by counteracting the heat island effect, which Ward 8 is very susceptible to because it has experienced some of the sharpest declines in tree canopy cover over the past two decades.
Post-pandemic, schools in D.C. are reporting dramatic increases in student anxiety and stress. School gardens have been proven to mitigate this. The amount of time students spend in them – and outdoors more generally – also directly correlates with academic performance.
We have the highest demand ever for school gardens and community gardens, and we hear about their positive effects all the time from educators and administrators.
<split-lines>"We have the highest demand ever for school gardens and community gardens, and we hear about their positive effects all the time from educators and administrators."<split-lines>
You’ve had a unique experience at City Blossoms: evolving from seasonal intern to Executive Director. What first drew you to the organization, and what’s kept you there?
I’m from D.C., and very much a city boy. After majoring in environmental policy, I lived on a farm for a year in Massachusetts facilitating garden-based programming for youth from cities. It was my first time experiencing something like this – I asked, ‘Is anyone doing this in D.C.?’
After finding City Blossoms and doing an internship here in 2015, the rest was history. I’ve stayed because I know from firsthand experience the incredible impact this work has.
City Blossoms also takes pride in developing its leaders. After my internship, I was encouraged to apply to the board, where I served for four years, learned about fundraising and strategic planning, and became board chair. I would never have been on a board if not for City Blossoms. The organization truly thinks expansively about who can be a board member and offer something unique and valuable.
Finally, how can people interested in the City Blossoms mission support it?
The easiest way to plug in is to sign up to volunteer and follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook, and Youtube.
