Capstone Community Gardens

Capstone Community Gardens is located in the lower ninth ward, one of the neighborhoods most drastically affected by Hurricane Katrina. The organization’s mission is to tackle food insecurity in a sustainable and community oriented fashion. They achieve this by employing a variety of techniques, such a aquaculture (with goldfish and koi), gardening on multiple plots (15) throughout the lower ninth ward, raising animals (goats, chickens and ducks) for fertilizer, capturing rain water, beekeeping, and using solar energy.

At Capstone, we split into two groups. One group worked on gardening, and the other cleaned out the animal cages. The animal waste was dumped in the compost pile, which will later be used to add nutrients to the garden soil. The gardening consisted of pulling weeds, planting vegetables, and distributing mulch and bits of cardboard. David explained to us how important it is to focus on both of these aspects- the animals and the plants. The balance between them is key and is what makes Capstone so successful and productive. Since it’s opened, they have given away 16,000-18,000 lbs of food! It was wonderful to participate in such a kind and helpful endeavor.