On Friday, September 17 and Saturday, September 18, 2021, the Center for Earth Jurisprudence, along with their grant partners Green Volusia, Spring Hill CRA, the Joyce M. Cusack Resource Center, and Young Bear Environmental; joined together to plant native trees and plants, install raised planter beds with native, sustainable multi-use herbs, fruits, and vegetables, as well as to clean up and improve Spring Hill Park in the Spring Hill community within DeLand, Florida.
Residents and Volunteers plant trees at Spring Hill Park
CEJ Associate Director JT Keene was onsite helping to coordinate the volunteer effort which featured community leaders, Spring Hill residents, members of local churches, as well as several Barry Law students looking to assist in this green infrastructure project designed to not only beautify the park, but to help alleviate localized flooding during and after heavy rains in the area.
Volunteers installing raised planter beds in Spring Hill Park
Over 40 trees were planted over the course of two days, including Live Oak, Pond Cypress, Chickasaw Plum, Persimmon, Pignut Hickory, and Mulberry. The cypress trees are natural water filters and will help to keep the pond within the park clean for the local animals that call it home. The Plum, Persimmon, and Mulberry trees provide edible fruit, and the oaks provide acorns which can be ground and used as seasoning and as a flour substitute for the community.
A variety of trees will improve Spring Hill Park, and provide fruit and other resources to the community
The raised planter beds feature a variety of native plants that include peppers, a number of herbs, and three different strains of blueberry, all of which can be harvested and used by the Spring Hill residents. Most of what was planted during this project was chosen after consulting with residents on what they would like to have access to in a sustainability garden, as well as what made sense to grow in the park when considering the year-round climate in north-central Florida.
One of three raised planter beds featuring herbs, grapes, and peppers
Under the direction of project supervisor Daniel Young of Young Bear Environmental, the crew of volunteers overcame the heat, the afternoon downpours, and the hundreds of pounds of pine bark mulch that was spread around each planted tree over the course of three days (including Friday, September 24, when the planting project was completed).
Danny Young (Young Bear Environmental) and Shilretha Dixon (Joyce M. Cusack Resource Center)
This was all a part of an ongoing grant project with a focus on green infrastructure, and how communities can utilize it to both improve water quality and restore native wetlands, as well as help mitigate the effects of climate change within their neighborhoods. The next segment of this grant project will entail a “Resilience Team Academy” in which Spring Hill residents will attend a five week course to develop a team that will identify potential issues in the community and how to take action to solve those issues as they arise.
Volunteers from the Spring Hill neighborhood, Barry University School of Law, Scouts, and local church organizations took part in this three day effort