We are excited to be working with Super 6 District Commissioner Ted Terry in DeKalb County to bring Productive Urban Landscapes across the county. So far we are exploring different opportunities with libraries, public right of ways, highways, and overpasses to get started.
Of course, the best place to get started is at home! That’s exactly what Commissioner Terry has done. Through our Grow, Don’t Mow network of edible landscapers, we connected Commissioner Terry to the talented team at Thyme to Party. They have taken his landscape to a new level!
Commissioner Terry now has three raised beds, plus some fruiting vines and bushes in his front yard. As a bonus, he also has a small array of solar panels on his roof. So far, Commissioner Terry is growing kale and cabbage, but with spring time right around the corner his beds are about to get a makeover.
Thanks to Commissioner Terry for all his help to create Productive Urban Landscapes in DeKalb County, and thanks to Thyme to Party for making his front yard look wonderful! Stay tuned to our blog to find out what else is growing in DeKalb County, and check out this exclusive interview with Commissioner Terry:
Commissioner Ted Terry: An interview
As the newest member of the Dekalb County Board of Commissioners, former Clarkston Mayor Ted Terry is looking to build on the urban agriculture progress he made in Clarkston and take it county-wide. We sat down with him to discuss his policy goals his first term, and how the Fruitful Communities program fits into his overall goals.
What are your top three policy objectives for your first term?
"Our policy goals can be summed up like this: we’re building a safer, greener, and more prosperous DeKalb County by creating better environmental stewardship policies, better food programs, and better community engagement strategies."
What attracted you to the Fruitful Communities program?
"For starters, my degree is in Food Science and Human Nutrition, so I spent five years studying how to help people live healthier lives through food. That translated to me getting involved with politics because the system that we live in makes it difficult to create healthy, sustainable lives. I wanted to change that, and I see policy changes as an important vehicle for change. It's an old adage, but I believe we should think globally and act locally. Let’s make changes in our own front yards and throughout Dekalb County. I see Fruitful Communities as being a great way of addressing the policy goals and turning them into practical solutions for everyday people."
How will Fruitful Communities help you achieve your policy objectives?
"The core of what we’re talking about is broad community engagement and community direction. The pathways that come out of the Fruitful Communities program will be guided by local decision-makers. This is an opportunity to give people ownership over their land and public land while bringing people together. There's an opportunity for people to gather safely, meet their neighbors, grow their own food, ecology, and community. It's really a perfect virtuous cycle."
Last question: what is your plant patronus?
"Kale. I love kale, what can I say? Kale chips, kale salad, kale smoothies. Oh, and here's my go-to kale recipe."
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