On an otherwise unassuming morning in early August, Project Sweetie Pie set out to plant some trees.

Gathering under the blazing summer sun with shovels in hand, a group of youth and supervisors gathered to hone their horticultural skills and contribute to their community’s environmental health. What resulted was the “Freedom Tree Garden.”

The gravel bed tree farm, located at 1701 Oak Park Avenue N in Minneapolis, seeks to address issues surrounding food and climate justice, as well as bolster environmental literacy for the surrounding community. This coming Indigenous People’s Day, trees from the garden will be given to North Minneapolis residents in need of increased green canopy cover.

This project represents a community-wide collaboration in its truest form, with twelve different organizations participating in the project. A full list of participating organizations can be found below. The gathering was further enriched by a visit from John Evans, formerly from Hennepin County, who returned from retirement to participate in the construction of the tree garden.

The story of Project Sweetie Pie and these gravel bed tree farms is far from over, with plans to install more at the Loppet Foundation.