Letter From the Director
Dear Friends of the Orchard Community Learning Center,
On February 24, we entered our 15th year of work in south Phoenix. Across these years, we have partnered with schools and families in the cultivation and care of our farm at 911 W. Baseline, were one of the founding organizations of Spaces of Opportunity, sponsored many STEA3M camps, heritage food workshops, the Nature Explore Classroom at Spaces, the student run Healthy Roots Café, ukulele/son Jarocho classes and provided food relief during COVID.
As we enter 2025, we invite you to join us in the development of a new chapter of our work that has been
authored over the last year. We are excited to announce highlights of this evolution, as we are busy on the ground organizing, designing, and building. Look for invitations soon to visit and celebrate our agroforestry work developing a new site at the Brooks Community Center located at 3146 E. Wier Ave. We have a 10 year, renewable lease for 2 acres of irrigated land and are leasing two rooms; one for classroom learning space and the second will become a corner store stocked with local food and products healthy for humans and respectful of animals and the planet. The Brooks neighborhood is 3 miles from a grocery. Our goal is to help fill this void. 2025 is a planning year for the Healthy Roots Corner Store. Watch for a grand opening of the store next December!
We also added two new employees this past year. Welcome Lane Butler, Urban Forestry Educator, and Roman Jones-James, field operations. Both are co-designers of our Agroforestry project!
I invite you to read carefully the graphic and photos included with this letter. In a few words, they tell the story of an amazing 2024 and specifically what you can do to support a very ambitious 2025.
Call. Visit. Pass it on! Help us spread the word. Send me names, addresses, and/or email contacts and I will send out this same communication as we expand our sustaining base of supporters.
With appreciation and on behalf of the Orchard Board & team,