June 1, 2022

An Interview with One of our Environmental Partners: Grow-Link United

 The South Fulton Institute is partnering with Grow-Link United and the Chattahoochee Hills Charter School on their School Garden. We recently sat down with Grow-Link United’s CEO, Jennifer Baker, and Co-Founder Darius Acker, to discuss their company and the work they plan to do in the Chattahoochee Hills Community.

Describe a little bit about Grow-Link United and give some examples of things that you do.

“Grow-Link United’s mission is growing communities by linking opportunities,” they stated. Grow-Link provides technical skills training, specifically geared towards agriculture, environment, and building communities. “We believe that sustainability is a big factor – self-sustainability, environmental sustainability, and everything in between,” they added. Grow-Link United is aimed towards training the youth, adults and seniors with skill sets that help them to become self sustainable. They are working with the youth specifically to integrate environment and agriculture into the core curriculum, (math, social studies, sciences, etc.) of school systems, by focusing on skills, trade tips and increasing social awareness. 

Who is your programming primarily geared towards – students, teachers, the general Chattahoochee Hills community?

“The program is geared towards students of all ages,” they stated. Darius, who is the co-founder and has been in agriculture for over 10 years, discussed that it’s a niche market to understand and teach where food comes from. “Community education is very powerful and impactful,”. Darius goes on to say, “Once you have the knowledge of something, you can apply sustainable practices to your life (i.e. recycling and food consumption).People really understand the environmental impacts of their actions and have more appreciation for the natural environment. Grow-Link United is looking to create stewards of life and stewards of the earth.”

How did you get started in this space? How did you identify this need, and how did you get started on working to meet this need?

Jennifer and Darius discussed how they recognized that Agriculture is a $76 billion dollar industry that is very diverse and covers a lot of fields. They chose Chattahoochee Hills Charter School because the Principal of the school is an agriculture specialist and farm manager, and the school is known as a “farm school.” Chattahoochee Hills Charter School’s programming has a unique, important and special skill set with focus on equitable space placemaking, hands-on education, etc. In terms of demographics, Jennifer and Darius thought about the impact of children getting involved and how they could assist with continuing this knowledge and interest. They realized that starting with younger generations allows for parents to be involved, as well, and children can assist with spreading knowledge to older generations. They stated, “Family knows what the kids are putting in their brains, hearts, daily life, and it rubs off on you. If you can reach a child you can reach anybody.” Grow-Link feels that children take what they learn home, spread it to their household, and deepen understanding for everybody.

What do you hope for the community to get out of the garden/programming? What lasting impressions do you hope for them to take away?

Jennifer and Darius believe that Grow-Link United will offer self-empowering opportunities. They believe “if you empower yourself; you spread it, if you feel good, you pass it on.” They want to focus on the inner energy of the individual, stating “this little light of mine – let the light shine,” and they hope to become a beacon in the community. They also hope to highlight the senior community and share how important they are to the community. They discussed how elders have information and want to give their knowledge, and that historically they started as stewards of the earth/organic farming  process – “they are natural born leaders here and they need the opportunities to spread their info,” they shared. Jennifer and Darius also discussed how they believe middle aged people are community drivers, and that communities are formed when everyone is empowered. They believe that helps the community to become self-sustaining. 

How has the community embraced your projects and mission?

“When we first started, kids would come home very dirty, and parents were concerned about this and had some questions,” they shared. “They were hesitant initially but quickly accepted the program. Once they saw the enjoyment that the children had and heard how excited they were to come home and talk to them about the garden, parents started to get onboard. Parents could see their interactions with Grow-Link and programming, and they could see how happy it made their kids.” This built trust in Jennifer and Darius, as well, which is very important. They further discussed how most parents and teachers may not have grown up in an agricultural environment themselves, but once they saw it and it was explained to them, teachers and parents were more open to opportunities.

What is your ultimate hope and dream for this organization? If given unlimited resources, where would you take it?

Jennifer and Darius discussed ideas of developing an app, having an institute or physical building to serve as a headquarters where people can come and see the agricultural practices, train on pedagogy and curriculum, and be able to enroll students at Grow-Link Ambassador. It would be a  hub for knowledge, training, activities, research, etc.

If interested in supporting Grow-Link United email them at growlink.atl@gmail.com. Be on the lookout for their website launch and future workshops on SFI’s future newsletters and on our social media platforms.