The Orange Tree Project

Last Update: May 3, 2020

In the fall of 2019, Garden on Mars was completing development on the five teaching gardens in the Lower Ninth Ward.  The series of gardens were designed to be an Urban Agriculture Program teaching food security and good nutritional habits in a neighborhood decimated by Hurricane Katrina. The main garden was The Market Garden, a shopping and teaching garden stocked with produce and flowers from The Herb Garden, Beans and Greens Garden, Flower & Kitchen Garden, and The Orchard.

When Garden on Mars started in 2013 the goal was to ultimately partner with a university and develop an Urban Agricultural Program.  In 2018, I began working toward a partnership with Tulane University.  Professor Dorothy Cheruiyot, from the School of Science & Engineering, agreed to help create a service-learning program where the students would volunteer a specific number of hours each week in conjunction with classroom learning.  The program will allow students to learn by working in each of the Garden on Mars gardens. 

The Orange Tree Project: On November 18, 2019, we received a $5,000 donation from Mrs. Patricia Miller to honor her family’s dedication to the revitalization of the Lower Ninth Ward.  Six years ago, we hoped the gardens would someday be able to expand our outreach beyond the gardens, but without a partnership and the funds, it did not seem possible.  The Miller family donation could not have come at a more perfect time. 

On November 20, Tulane University announced its partnership with Garden on Mars at a teacher appreciation award ceremony for Professor Cheruiyot.  As we began the partnership with Tulane University, I was eagerly looking forward to what I believed we could accomplish together.  At our first meeting, I told Professor Cheruiyot about the donation we received, and how the money would be used to provide orange trees to senior citizens in our target area.  She was equally excited that Garden on Mars was now able to expand its impact on the residents of the Lower Ninth Ward.  The generosity of the Miller family made it possible for us to begin this important mission. 

We had all the necessary resources to buy and plant 100 orange trees to seniors living in the Lower Ninth Ward.  The Ben & Ben Becnel citrus farm donated a portion of the cost so we could purchase mature, flowering trees ensuring the recipients would be harvesting oranges within a year of planting. Garden on Mars has always been focused on helping residents of the Lower Ninth Ward realize how easy it was to grow their own food.  We have provided hands-on instruction, labor, and materials as we taught people to set up their own Kitchen Boxes in their yards.  This project was no different; we planned to provide the tree, dig the holes, and plant the fruit bearing trees.

Breaking Ground! Marquette University students from Wisconsin have been volunteering with Garden on Mars for five years and had three service-learning groups coming in early 2020.  When the service leaders were told about the Orange Tree Project, they enthusiastically pledged their support. In January, the first of the Marquette University students passed out flyers to advertise the project.  We went to churches, and the community center and met some wonderful lifelong residents of the Lower Ninth Ward.  They also started digging holes for the trees and met seniors who would be receiving the orange trees.

In March, when Marquette University students returned, the Orange Tree Project was on schedule to pick up the 100 orange trees and start the planting process.   On Thursday, March 12, the students, and I headed to the citrus farm to pick up the orange trees.  While we were en route to the farm the students began getting emails from their school.  Marquette informed the students of the school's decision to close the campus for the remainder of the semester because of the coronavirus pandemic.  That announcement was followed, in rapid succession, by announcements of cancellations from Tulane University and other university groups that were scheduled to participate in the tree planting.  We knew we had 20 senior citizens waiting for their trees, so we quickly changed our plans. 

On the way back from the citrus farm we stopped at my uptown garden and dropped off 80 orange trees.  The students were determined to get the 20 seniors their trees before they left New Orleans. The next day, the Marquette students hurriedly planted 20 orange trees for the residents who had their holes prepared, and by noon they had been picked up to get packed and ready for the drive back to Wisconsin.  Here are a few of our recipients that benefited from the student’s perseverance:

Hitting the Pause Button Garden on Mars scaled back on our work to safely shelter in place, but we are not defeated.  I am pleased that at least 20% of the trees have been planted and the remaining 80% were safely stored at the Fleur de Eden garden at 2111 Baronne Street in uptown New Orleans.