Community Partner : Baltimore Office of Sustainability Intern : Talia Shadroui Site Supervisor : Abby Cocke
What is the Baltimore Office of Sustainability ?
Performed an economic analysis on homes adjacent to selected urban agriculture sites in Middle Neighborhoods in Baltimore City to determine the impact of urban farms on property values in neighborhoods Performed a literature review on best practices for equity and community engagement around urban agriculture Interviewed local urban agriculture stakeholders and community leaders about equity and community engagement Drafted a toolkit for community engagement for new and existing urban agriculture sites to support them in engaging with surrounding neighborhoods in Baltimore
The Office of Sustainability is a resource , catalyst , and advocate for a sustainable and resilient Baltimore . The Office integrates the principles of environmental integrity , social equity , and economic prosperity into plans , practices , policies , and partnerships . Our goal is to provide innovative solutions to our City ’ s challenges while engaging , educating , and motivating all sectors of Baltimore .
My experience working for the Baltimore Office of Sustainability this summer has been very meaningful , and I have thoroughly enjoyed my role in supporting the work of the Office of Sustainability . I am so grateful for my supervisor Abby and all the guidance they have given me as I have navigated my Urban Farms Community Engagement Internship and completed my projects . During Weeks 1 and 2 of my internship , I had the chance to read a great deal of documents and reports on urban agriculture and got a great foundational grasp of the subject and the benefits it can provide to neighborhoods . Weeks 3 and 4 consisted of working on an economic analysis on homes adjacent to urban agriculture sites such as Whitelock Community Farm and Sisson Street Garden . I also worked on synthesizing what I learned from the reports I read into an internal document that the Office of Sustainability can use to refer back to as they expand their support of urban farming projects in Baltimore . Throughout the internship I had meetings with local urban agriculture stakeholders and community leaders . I asked them questions and had conversations with them about equity and community engagement and the ways that urban farming projects have been successful in engaging residents , especially people of color . I also learned a lot about what community members wish worked differently and listened to their constructive criticism and ideas for how the government can better support people of color and urban farming projects . I summarized their responses to my questions in a document as an adjacent part of the Literature Review .
Ultimately , the shared stories and experiences of the people I interviewed have most enlightened me about the strengths and weaknesses of urban agriculture and its capacity for creating community space and building strong relationships with residents . Finally , during my last two weeks of my internship , I am working on a toolkit for community engagement for new and existing urban agriculture sites to support them in getting their farms or gardens started and building long-term partnerships with community members so that they can best engage and empower their neighborhoods .
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