Garden Not-So-Secret, Thanks To EPA

Last week, the pond in Nappésoul’s Newhallville backyard was just a hole in the ground. 

By Wednesday morning, with the help of a federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant, the hole had turned into a filtered, aquaponic pond system, with koi fish and minnows on the way.

That pond, along with other upcoming sustainable projects, is made possible by a $500,000 EPA grant to Common Ground High School’s Green Jobs Corps.

The Nappésoul crew — made up of owners Greg and Laquaya Smith, alongside high school interns Madison Foster and José Gragirene — spent the week carefully outlining the pond, and brainstorming what kinds of plants they could place around and in the waters. Foster was a little overwhelmed at first.

“At first, when you’re putting everything together, it might seem like a lot,” Foster, a rising senior at Sound School, said. ​“But once you’re done, it’s like, ​‘I did this.’ It just feels like an accomplishment.”

Nappésoul, located at 135 Butler St., is a nonprofit organization that works to build self-sustaining gardens in ​“at-risk” communities. It’s one of five worksites partnered with Green Jobs Corps this summer. The Common Ground program won $500,000 from the EPA in November to incentivize youth engagement with both community and environmental justice. That money was finally received in early May, and student jobs kicked off in July.

According to Green Jobs Corps Director Crystal Fernandez, the program has earned environmental education grants from the EPA in the past, but this is the first grant specifically dedicated to environmental justice. On Wednesday, Fernandez was touring Nappésoul among other partnered organizations (like the New Haven City Planning Department, Haven’s Harvest, New Haven Climate Movement, and Urban Resources Initiative at Quarry Park) alongside colleagues and EPA representative Keyana White.

$120,000 will be used specifically for student workers’ wages for the next two years. (Gragirene’s wages are coming from the grant, while Foster is employed through Youth@Work, which works alongside Green Jobs Corps.) $32,000 will be used for student-led projects, such as Nappésoul’s backyard pond. A portion of the money will be used for two youth leadership summits this year and next. And the last fraction of the money will be used to fund partnered worksites. 

For Nappésoul in particular, $42,000 have been allocated for the next two years for their operations.

“It’s a huge support for a grassroots organization. We are building power within our community who are already doing this work,” Fernandez said. 

Greg and Laquaya host workshops through Nappésoul to help interested neighbors and community members create their own gardens. Greg pointed to the numerous plants growing in the front yard — raspberries, carrots, marigold, cucumbers, mint, thyme, oregano, tomatoes, and more. It’s a ​“green maze.”

“The first taste of a fresh cucumber is amazing. It’s refreshing, it’s mind blowing,” Laquaya said. 

Stepping behind the gate and into the backyard reveals a cacophony of noises — a rooster’s crow, a dog’s bark, and the soft trickling of water from the pond. The flock of chickens are named Hayhay, Sprinkle, Banana, and Vanilla. (Hayhay, according to Laquaya, is an ​“olive egger,” meaning she lays green eggs.)

And on top of the table was a tank of baby koi fish, ready to be placed in the water. Now that the team has built the pond, they want to invite community members to visit, including a nearby daycare. 

Gragirene, who found out about Nappésoul through Green Jobs Corps, shared that he has learned a lot over the past month. When he accidentally touched poison ivy, Greg taught him how to use spit poultice to treat the wound. 

Nappésoul stood out to him as something special. ​“It was [their] plan on changing the world that really caught my eye,” Gragirene said. ​“I was interested and I gave it a chance. I really like it.”

Nappésoul started in 2020. Laquaya had always suffered from health complications, with numerous food allergies and random rashes breaking out on her body. So, the two began growing their own produce. Laquaya’s body began recovering. 

“Growing your own food, cooking your own food, and teaching people how to do it is important. Especially in this community,” Laquaya said. ​“We want other kids, families, people who just walk by to experience this too.”