Programs

 Urban Gardening and Resiliency Oases (UGRO)

The Urban Garden Resiliency Oasis (UGRO) is a ¾ acre urban garden situated in the heart of West End Atlanta. By working with Green4All, Georgia Organics, Southeast Horticulture Society, the Atlanta Local Food Initiative, Truly Living Well, Farmer D, and West End Neighborhood Association partners and local faith based organizations, AMPS-Atlanta will train a new generation of agtivists committed to providing fresh, healthy food available to all Atlantans, especially modest means communities and communities of color who typically have reduced access to quality produce at affordable prices.

 The primary goal of UGROs is to empower residents of the communities surrounding the garden to build and maintain their own source of healthy food. The initial programming for the garden involves several partners to ensure the  presence of a steady volunteer base needed to get the garden up and running. However, it is our intention to have members of the  Oakland Community serve as leaders over the garden within the course of the next few years. This level of community involvement is  necessary to ensure the sustainability of the Urban Gardening and Resiliency Oasis (UGRO), and allows for leadership to be  directly engaged in the creating of a more environmentally sustainable economy.

 The Prana Group in conjunction with AMPS-ATLANTA will offer a volunteer base for the next few years in order to make sure the  transition is as smooth as possible. In addition, our partnerships will help to bring awareness to the actions being taken in the  community, thereby helping to solidify future support from outside organizations. During this transition period we will be constantly  assessing the impact of the programming, and making any adjustments that will better accommodate the community’s needs.

This projects aims to:

• Directly engage members of the Oakland Community living in West End Atlanta,
• Educate/Mentor a group of high school students that serves as EcoTerns in the AMPS-ATLANTA Program,
• Provide produce for homeless population in the Atlanta Food Bank
• Educate/Mentor a group of elementary-aged students from BEST Academy in Atlanta
• Provide education and leadership opportunities for youth from NWF Earth Tomorrow program.
• Provide education and leadership opportunities for Mentors from the AMPS-ATLANTA program and the Mentors from the 100 Black Men of Atlanta 100 Stars ProgramProvide exposure for partner community focused organizations (Outdoor Activity Center, Atlanta Food Bank, West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, Park Pride, Green 4 All, Outdoor Alliance for Kids, Greening Youth Foundation, Outdoor Foundation, Keeping it Wild, Sierra Club Building Bridges to Outdoors)