On August 27th the Dynamite Hill-Smithfield Community Land Trust (DH-SCLT) held a workday. This was their third volunteer weekend! It was co-sponsored by the Friends of Dynamite Hill and the Magic City Rising Movement!
We had 13 different volunteers, were visited by a journalist from Iron City Ink who is interested in writing a story about the DH-SCLT, and we accomplished a lot of work!
This weekend, in addition to some various maintenance, we FINISHED the clean up of three of the eight lots! On these lots we continued to cut all of the weeds, prune back some of the trees and bushes, and removed all of the large stones and bricks that were brought to the surface during the land cultivation the previous weekend. Additionally we did a street clean up of the trash that was lining the streets near the lots. After the volunteer work day was done, we received our first shipment of wood from one of our supporters Barney Lovelace. This will be used to built an open air pole barn! This is a huge step forward for the DH-SCLT! Thank you to all of our volunteers this weekend!
In the spring of 2017 the DH-SCLT signed a lease with the Birmingham Land Bank Authority for eight lots in the East Thomas Neighborhood of Smithfield using the Adopt-A-Lot Program. These lots will be developed as a pilot program for the DH-SCLTs regenerative agriculture program. This will include the creation of a Cooperative Fresh Market, the installation of a pollinator garden and regenerative composting project, and a cooperative organic farm. The implementation of this program will beautify the neighborhood, act as a green space for neighborhood residents, and will attract bees and butterflies, which are necessary for regenerative agriculture. To implement this program, the DH-SCLT received a generous grant from the Sierra Club, Alabama Chapter, a partnership we look forward to continuing to foster into the future.