Raised garden beds flanking a fresh mural by artist Tierra Armstrong now stand at The Barnyard, the West Grove community center where neighborhood kids have gathered since 1983. Environmental nonprofit ECO Planet Earth unveiled its second Legacy Garden on Wednesday, July 16, at 3870 Washington Ave., expanding an initiative that pairs food-growing infrastructure with sustainability education in Coconut Grove's historic Black neighborhood.
The beds use technology invented by Michael Molinar that captures water from air-conditioning condensation and recycles it to irrigate crops. The system addresses both food access and water waste, turning a byproduct most buildings dump into storm drains into a resource for growing produce.
Program director Nalisa Saati said the gardens are anchored at institutions that hold the neighborhood together.
"It's about leaving a legacy," Saati said. "This community is getting pushed out a lot, and the thing that does keep them together, and here, is the churches and the after-school programs."
High school interns from ECO Planet Earth helped plant the beds with support from Vizcaya Museum & Gardens. City of Miami Commissioner Damian Pardo and Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava were among elected officials and sponsors acknowledged at the event. Other partners included Kobi Karp Architecture & Interior Design, Pure Water Factory, and the Connecting Minds Project.
ECO Planet Earth, a Miami-based 501(c)(3) led by founder Justin Rundle, partnered with the Coconut Grove Ministerial Alliance to place gardens at historic Black churches and institutions across West Grove. The Barnyard joins Greater St. Paul AME Church, at 3680 Thomas Ave., where the first Legacy Garden opened on Earth Day 2025. The nonprofit plans nine more installations at Black churches in the neighborhood, including St. Matthew Community Baptist, Beulah Missionary Baptist, Christ Episcopal, and Macedonia Missionary Baptist, according to its project materials.
Coconut Grove Cares, which founded The Barnyard in 1983, serves more than 200 low-income children and their families with free after-school and summer camp programs. The center is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sylvia Jordan, executive program director of Coconut Grove Cares, said she hopes the garden gives children and families a place to gather. "For whatever little time, it's a place for the community to enjoy, for the children to enjoy," Jordan said. "So that's the good thing, and we'll remember the people that made it happen."
The next Legacy Garden site has not been announced.
Upcoming community events:
- Sunday, July 19: Vizcaya Village Market, 9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m., 3250 S. Miami Ave. (summer hours through Sunday, Sept. 27)
- Saturday, July 25: "The Fruit We Bear" twilight procession at Vizcaya, 7 p.m. Free for members; $15 general public.
