The People’s Garden Initiative (PGI) has partnered with the Xerces Society to expand pollinator and beneficial insect outreach and education to community gardens nationwide! Managed by the USDA, the PGI was developed to celebrate resilient communities and innovative food systems across the U.S. Originally launched in 2009, the first flagship people’s garden was planted on the National Mall in Washington, DC, and now includes flagship gardens in 17 designated urban city hubs and nearly 1,600 registered gardens in communities across the U.S.
The PGI operates under these three core criteria:
- Join the PGI community and get involved with others in the movement
- Grow sustainable farms, gardens, and habitat to benefit both people and wildlife
- Teach about growing local, sustainable, resilient, culturally significant food systems
People’s Garden Initiative is excited to cross pollinate with Bee City and Bee Campus USA! Both programs are working to bring nature and, in particular pollinators, into towns and cities. Many of PGI’s registered sites and BCU affiliates’ locations overlap, which provides opportunities for these groups to collaborate and further bring awareness on conservation education and opportunities in urban areas. BCU affiliates, check out some of these helpful and inspiring PGI resources:
- Food Access, Food Waste
- Gardening Advice
- Soil Health
- Importance of Pollinators
- Stories of the People’s Gardens with featured Xerces habitat projects in Minneapolis and New York City and so much more!
To find out more about the People’s Garden Initiative:
- See the PGI map to learn which gardens might be near your bee city or campus.
- Learn more about the initiative at usda.gov/peoples-garden.
- Follow PGI on USDA social media pages with #peoplesgarden.
You can sign-up to get the monthly e-newsletter from the USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, including information on funding possibilities and opportunities available with the People’s Garden.
