Garden on Mars
Today was my first day of service of my last Bear Breaks trip, and it was certainly a day to remember. I am on the trip to New Orleans, Louisianna focusing on community revitalization. Today, our team spent the day in the Lower Ninth Ward, serving at a small urban gardening project called Garden on Mars.
The Garden is run by an energetic, spunky woman named Jeanette. Jeanette has a way of making you feel like your whole life’s mission is to plant herbs and teach others to do the same. “People around here grow grass, and you can’t eat grass.” She continually explained the urgency to plant something worth investing in.
To Jeanette, support from her community is the most important thing. All she wants is for residents of the Lower Ninth to catch on to her mission. She dreams of a day when she can look down the street and see yards full of edible plants, like asparagus, rosemary, and peppers. “Contrary to what people believe, asparagus does not grow in a bag at the supermarket.”
We spent the day clearing weeds near the sidewalks and painting the side of the “Gardeners’ Library,” a colorful trailer for storage and educational materials.
Burnell’s Grocery Store
After our service, we ventured down the street to the famous Burnell’s Grocery Store (which was featured on Ellen). Colton Burnell lived in the Lower Ninth Ward before Hurricane Katrina, when he had about thirty neighbors. Fourteen years later, he has three.
Burnell realized that, after Katrina, there was nowhere in town for residents to buy food. The nearest market was three bus rides away. So he took a risk in purchasing an old, run-down building and starting a grocery store with no experience. Today Burnell’s stands tall as a neighborhood market, barber shop, and laundry mat. Burnell also purchased a building behind it to develop an internet cafe.
A Common Theme
Today I was fortunate to meet some pretty influential New Orleans citizens. Both Jeanette and Burnell have devoted their lives to the Lower Ninth Ward and providing food access to the people who need it most. They took risks to provide the resources no one else would. I am encouraged by their courage, grit, and kindness.
Burnell kept saying, “I’m an average guy with an above average dream.” I think that’s a quote I’ll remember forever, paired with the knowledge that Jeanette and Burnell are simply people with hearts for their community. They noticed when things weren’t as they should be, and they acted on their discomfort. What encourages me the most about their stories is that anyone can do that at some capacity. And that’s a practice I’ll work on developing as I continue to reflect on my experiences in New Orleans.