Today we visited the Dahlia Campus at the Well Power Mental Health facility to see their gardens and learn the importance of it. This area was built in a place with a ton of history, as Dahlia Square was once a vibrant shopping community known state wide as the largest African American owned shopping center. In the late 1900's early 2000's the shopping center began to fail, leading the area falling into despair. That's when the current facility stepped in and requested from the community to help best provide for this complex area, which lead to the gardens and the mini farm being built.
Outside of the facility are neat rows of different crops, spanning from onions to herbs. Inside their greenhouse aquaponics is the norm, with greens growing with other leafy plants with nutrients provided from the tilapia. These plants and fish are sold twice weekly at their farmer's market or given away to the community twice weekly as part of a food pantry that resembles a shopping experience. Visitors choose what products to take instead of receiving pre-packaged boxes, in hope of community members having an easier time cooking food they were comfortable with.
This facility also has a sensory garden, with multiple flowers and fresh herbs that could be felt or smelled! Different areas of the garden consisted of a you pick, where visitors can build their own flower bouquet.
The actual center, hosts 2 schools, and provides dentistry and mental health services to the surrounding area. In addition they occasionally host in their kitchen free classes on how to use the crops received in food pantries. This helps the community members learn how to use all of their ingredients or maybe try something new.
Kids who visit the center can paint a rock and add to the Rock Snake in the garden. Kids love to see their stones when they visit the garden.
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