Our Work

Who we are

Growing Pontiac was born when Jill Robinson of the Oakland County Treasurer’s office started the Lots of Possibility program to make affordable county-owned lots available to Pontiac residents interested in community and agricultural use. With her background as a Greening of Detroit staff member and the increasing number of folks interested in starting gardens (and solving garden problems like groundhogs!), it was clear that the city deserved a great garden resource and support network. She gathered a volunteer team and began to focus on offering classes, gatherings, seeds and building a community garden with the help of community partners.

Our Core Values

Our core values guide our work and process. Building a just and equitable food system and cities that are prepared to address climate change will require working knowledge of systemic racism and classism, ecology, sustainability and community centered values. At Growing Pontiac, we work to elevate:

We learn together from our ancestors, our community, our teachers, and our own experience. Listening makes learning possible.

Growing food together sustainably is an act of service to our bodies, our neighborhood and the land. We help our neighbors find their power in the food system.

We value curiosity and observe the natural world and what plants can teach us. We appreciate surprises and the power of joy + beauty.

We all deserve abundance, wellness, rest, joy and safety, and organize our work on this assumption. Abundance is all around us and does not belong to one group or class.

Access to safe and healthy food, water and land is a human right. Just food systems rest on sovereignty, power and equitable access.

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