From 2012-2014, teens from the Western Addition of San Francisco learned garden skills, floral design and digital documentation skills; the neighborhood got flowers.
The Bloom Justice project came about as the result of extensive conversations between the organizers of Hayes Valley Farm, a high profile, interim use urban farm project, community members in the underserved neighborhood of the Western Addition/ Fillmore, and city officials interested in promoting urban commons projects in District 5 in San Francisco. After numerous community meetings and other outreach efforts, I developed the idea for Bloom Justice as a way to encourage neighborhood engagement in gardening, beautification, gardening education and jobs training for youth.