BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (KTAL/KMSS)—A Louisiana university is building an urban community nursery to provide seedlings for urban greening in disadvantaged communities.

University of the South Agricultural Center received a $2 million grant from USDA Forest Service Investment Recovery Act Grant Programadministered through the Founded 1890.

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The grant was a collaborative project between the 1890 Foundation, the U.S. Forest Service, the Southern University Ag Center and several local and state entities. The project will provide employment opportunities and community outreach across the state by providing urban spaces in disadvantaged communities with a more resilient tree canopy.

A ceremonial check was presented at AW Mumford Stadium on Nov. 9 during the Southern University Ag Center’s Ag Week.

Equal access to green space is essential to creating healthy, sustainable communities, and tree cover has sociological, ecological and environmental benefits.

The grant will establish storage plants for urban greening, help provide urban and community forestry training for undergraduate students, and much more over the next four years.

If you are interested in learning more about the Urban Community Nursery, email Dr. Yadong Qi, project director of the grant, at yadong.qi.sus.edu.

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