The City of Bristol Tennessee began a Neighborhood Grant program in 2016, with the purpose of awarding grant funding to help provide public benefit to a local neighborhood within the City limits.
Previous Neighborhood Grants provided local neighborhoods with additional decorative lighting and Little Free Libraries. This year the grant is being awarded to Appalachia Sustainable Development in partnership with Haynesfield Elementary School for a neighborhood garden space.
The 2018 Neighborhood Grant was announced on April 6, 2018 with an application deadline of June 29, 2018. The Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) was asked to review applications and determine eligibility based on a previously determined scoring criteria including project goals/objectives, need, public benefit/overall impact, maintenance, neighborhood support, other support, planning/timeline, and budget. After reviewing the applications, CDAC recommended to City Council that they award the Neighborhood Grant to the Haynesfield School Community Garden.
The Haynesfield Community Garden will be located in a space at the corner of Shirley Drive and Bluff City Highway. “The colorful gardens will add value to the neighborhood and provide a gardening space to for residents during after school hours, on weekends, and during the summer months,” stated Christina Blevins, the Community Development Specialist who heads up the grant program for the City.
Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD) is a local non-profit who supports local agriculture and assists in economic opportunity by connecting people to healthy food. The group has worked with Haynesfield Elementary School to train children how to grow a garden and enjoy fresh vegetables since 2014. The grant will allow the opportunity for Haynesfield Elementary School and ASD to partner in providing an expanded garden space permitting the neighborhood to grow some of its own food, flowers, and herbs.
The $5,000 grant will go towards materials for six new raised beds, soil, straw bales, landscaping fabric, no-dig semi-permanent fencing, and ASD labor.
For more information on the Neighborhood Grant program go to the City website at www.bristoltn.org or contact Christina Blevins at 423-989-5500 Ext. 2095. To learn more about Appalachian Sustainable Development go to www.asdevelop.org.
