Community Farms, Community Connections: An EDC Grounding Event with Liz Lamb, Robin Gunkel, and Carissa Aoki

Description

Interested in urban agriculture and its role in Baltimore communities? Join a tour of the community farms in Broadway East, Oliver, and Johnston Square. These farms are managed by The 6th Branch, a nonprofit organization originally founded by military veterans. Unlike city farms where gardeners rent separate plots, these farms were all initiated with input from their communities, and neighbors are welcome to come harvest food at any time. Weekly farm stand offerings are likewise free to the neighborhoods. Pollinator gardens contribute to neighborhood ecosystem diversity.

6th Branch farmer Liz Lamb will talk about the organization's initiatives and neighborhood outreach. Since the Ecological Design Collaborative (EDC) is a group interested in design for equity, among other things, there will also be an opportunity to walk by the new Hope Village, a container house development for the working unhoused, now under construction. Robin Gunkel, who was involved with the Sunflower Project next to the Johnston Square Farm, will also talk a bit about the history of that project.

Carissa Aoki will be the guide for the tour. Aoki is a professor at MICA and an applied ecologist working at the intersection of landscapes, disturbance, and risk. She is particularly interested in bringing anti-racist principles to the teaching of science, including the use of interdisciplinary stories to bring nontraditional content into the curriculum.

Tour Itinerary

If you happen to arrive late and need to catch up, the start of the tour will be at the 1600 block of N. Montford Avenue. From there, the group will proceed to Oliver Community Farm at 1325 N. Bond St. and finally to Johnston Square Farm at 1310 Homewood Ave.

Travel Logistics

The farms are not quite within walking distance. Biking and carpooling are encouraged to avoid a large group of cars moving from one location to the next.

Biking

If you want to bring your bike, park your car at Johnston Square Farm (1310 Homewood Ave.), where the tour will eventually end. Then ride to the start of the tour, the East Broadway Berry and Tree Farm, at the 1600 block of N. Montford Ave. If you are interested in bike-caravaning from Johnston Square, meet at the farm no later than 2:45 p.m. The tour begins at 3 p.m.

Driving

If you are carpooling with friends and are not already meeting elsewhere, park at Johnston Square Farm, 1310 Homewood Ave., and then drive in the single car to the tour's start, the 1600 block of N. Montford Ave.