the Painting Activist

7″ x 9″ watercolor, $70 ($10 donated to Urban Harvest)
SOLD
See all paintings available for sale.

You might have imagined this citrus tree on a farm surrounded by a lush green landscape, when actually in its backdrop were towering Houston skyscrapers just a mile away. Thanks to Urban Harvest, this tree gets to inhale an abundance of air pollution in an much needed area.

The organization is “dedicated to strengthening communities through gardening…launched as an effort to ease urban hunger, but now also addresses,

• neighborhood revitalization
• environmental education for the young and old
• supplemental income for low-income residents
• farmers’ markets
• horticulture therapy and
• organic horticulture business partnerships”

You can find Urban Harvest gardens in schools, parks, housing projects, religious institutions, vacant lots, and therapy centers. Believe me, in a city that seems to have enough asphalt and concrete to blanket the earth, colorful and nutritious gardens freckling the landscape are welcomed by all.

To accommodate a variety of needs to ensure that as many gardens are erected as possible, Urban Harvest delves into grade school education, adult gardening classes, nutrition and exercise, growing food for donations, selling produce for income, gardening as therapy, and community development. I never realized what a diverse tool gardening could be in an urban setting. It’s also very fitting in a time when illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes, run rampant due to poor eating habits, and our environment is in such desperate need of nature’s touch.