Chamber Volunteer Day 2017 - Tropical Fruit Gardening with Hope for Miami

Hope for Miami was granted funds from the Nature Conservancy to plant 30-40 native tropical fruit trees in the student garden at Kinloch Park Middle School. This school is located two blocks from our headquarters within the Big Brothers Big Sister's of Miami Carnival Center for Excellence on Lejeune Road ( just south of the Miami airport.) In addition to planting these tropical fruit trees, we will be teaching the students about the importance of local food sources, the challenges of growing food crops due to climate change and air pollution and how the garden project fits into the school's overall health & wellness environment. Hope for Miami and our collaborative partners will be enhancing many aspects of health & wellness at KPMS in the future, through planned fitness and nutrition classes, cooking demonstrations, family engagement activities, and community events.  Hope for Miami will be providing an excellent hands-on learning opportunity for the students who will participate in tilling, planting, watering, mulching and weeding activities once the trees and fruit-bearing plants are installed in the ground. We need adult volunteers and older teens in the soil preparation and planting of native fruit trees and plants, as these activities are too vigorous for middle school age students. The school is eager for community involvement and is eager to have the Chamber volunteers work alongside their staff and the Hope for Miami partners to raise the profile of this school through these community events like the tree-planting project.