Before and after image of the Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone gateway orchard.
The Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone gateway orchard project at the northwest corner of East 81st Street and Kinsman Road is just about complete!
The project is to serve as the entryway into the Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone, which BBC is cultivating as the nation’s largest urban agriculture districts. Rid-All Green Partnership and Ohio State University Extension’s Kinsman Farm are currently growing produce, raising fish, and creating compost on more than seven acres. With a strong presence on Kinsman Road, the gateway builds awareness for residents and visitors who may not know that farming is happening in a portion of the “Forgotten Triangle” at such a large scale.
The focal point of the gateway orchard is a twenty-foot-tall metal sign that is positioned above a wall of gabion baskets. Residents and stakeholders selected the sign design and logo among a field of different options. The baskets have been filled with various bricks, rocks, and debris from around the Kinsman neighborhood.
Pear, apple, and peach trees, little bluestem, blueberry masses, and grape arbors have been planted at the site, which was formerly a vacant lot, not only to be representative of the food being grown in the Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone, but also to provide brilliant color to the site in the spring, summer, and fall.
The project was made possible by a grant from the US Conference of Mayors and Scotts Miracle-Gro, as well as funds from the City of Cleveland’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
