Greener Partners
Title: Growing Community Connections to Accessible Greens and Urban Gardening
Student Interns:
Dani Nagamoto, PhD
Drexel University College of Medicine
Academic Preceptor:
Laura Mullin, MS
Drexel University College of Medicine
Community Preceptor:
Amy Johnson
Greener Partners
Community Site:
Greener Partners is a nonprofit organization serving communities in Philadelphia and surrounding counties through experiential learning, urban garden development and maintenance, and access to fresh, locally grown produce. With garden sites at many community hubs, including schools, clinics, and hospitals, and a mobile farm program, Greener Partners reaches a wide range of learners and neighbors. From elementary children learning seed-to-plate principles and trying new produce in a fun, hands-on exploratory environment, to taste-based workshops in healthcare settings, to supplying produce for local farmers’ markets and food pantries, Greener Partners demonstrates its holistic mission to strengthen community health with connections to healthy food.
Team’s Experience:
The Bridging the Gaps intern experienced many Greener Partners sites, assisting with summer camp programming in the farm explorer truck, harvesting and preparing fresh produce from Main Line Health-affiliated sites for food-insecure community members, and maintaining gardens across West Philadelphia. The intern participated in on-site food demonstrations and education at a West Philly health clinic and shadowed consulting visits from new sites interested in developing partnerships. The intern helped facilitate a town hall in a women’s housing community to brainstorm future longitudinal programming. A key feature of the summer involved helping welcome four high school summer interns to Greener Partners. The intern worked with them weekly through first-time gardening experiences, community meal preparation, and field trips to West Philly urban gardens. The BTG intern led a skill-share for the high school interns to make strawberry jam as a sweet wrap-up to the summer.
Reflections
As the summer comes to a close, I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to intern with Greener Partners. I was seeking a summer experience far from a clinical setting where I could be introduced to more of the Philly community and spend some time enjoying the outdoors. I am leaving with so much more. Greener Partners gave me so many new experiences in hands-on education across Philly and its suburbs. It demonstrated issues of urban food access and food justice in a tangible way, and I was able to learn alongside Greener Partners staff as they take steps toward change. Most of all, I was able to connect to many communities and neighborhoods I wouldn’t have had the exposure to otherwise, as a recent transplant to the city. Seeing how community hubs can sustain urban gardens and the impact that these spaces have on the community shows me what steps hospitals and clinics can take to support patients holistically. This experience also influenced the approach I will take in future conversations around fresh food and nutrition with my patients, as it has empowered me to meet people where they are and be able to suggest local resources. The Greener Partners staff were so welcoming in allowing me to take part in many of their outreach, consulting, or maintenance tasks. I was surrounded by passionate, knowledgeable, and kind GP educators and growers that supported me in having a fantastic summer.
Dani Nagamoto
