Meet Fast Forward Presenters >> Bailie Gregory & Sara Jade Underwood

What is your Big Idea for Philadelphia?

More Hospitality: Mercy-Emily Edible Park 

When we talk about “what’s next for Philadelphia?” you might be thinking about something to build. We certainly have a lot of that happening, drastically so in some neighborhoods. However, not all these spaces are simply vacant. The city is spotted with green spaces thanks to urban gardeners. Once abandoned lots are community oases that provide fresh food and flowers. They also reduce crime and stress while they increase exercise rates and community.

Urban gardens have their fair share of challenges, too. Most people are guerilla gardeners. With the value increase for parcels, many of these green spaces are under threat of being lost. Different groups are working together to save existing gardens, including Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Neighborhood Gardens Trust, the Philadelphia Land Bank, councilmembers, and community gardeners.

If you’ve lived in Philadelphia for any amount of time, you know what people mean when they call us the City of Brotherly Love. Our love is gritty. It’s no surprise that one would find some of the best examples of this love in a garden. In our garden, we show our love through action. We get dirty and we work hard, all with the hope that something beautiful will happen. It takes a lot of love to start a garden. But it takes hospitality to keep a garden going.

Gardens are naturally hospitable; each plant has a purpose. Sunflowers grow next to tomatoes to help keep the soil clean. Trees that grow tall offer shade to leafy greens. Our city has a lot of brotherly love. To keep growing, we need more hospitality – the kind that can be found at Mercy Emily Edible Park. The kind that recognizes that we all have unique strengths. The kind of that grows food and beautiful flowers and then shares them with an open hand. This garden is a reminder that we thrive in our differences – a reminder that our city can do the same.

Instagram: @meepgarden

Bailie Gregory is currently a student at Princeton Theological Seminary. Before she went back to school, she taught in Philadelphia for five years. Her interests in education and theology and her love of Philly brought her to the Mercy-Emily Edible Produce garden this summer where she worked alongside students to develop the garden, educate youth about food justice issues in Philadelphia and create a fruitful environment for the community around the garden.

Sara Jade Underwood has a background in Biological and Environmental sciences, currently working for the Department of Conservation of Natural Resources (DCNR) in the State Parks system.  Originally from rural New England, she moved to the city of Philadelphia after college.  Her love for green spaces, the arts, and conservation has drawn her to become an active member of the city gardens and discover more about the need for food sovereignty.  Sara Jade serves most actively as a community member of Broad Street Ministry and the MEEP garden.