So Many Accomplishments this Earth Day

A huge THANK YOU goes out to all the folks who participated in Cultivate KC’s 2025 Earth Day Day of Service! We are grateful to everyone who chose to spend their Earth Day making a positive impact within our city, all while learning more about our invaluable local community of growers. The weather was on our side as we knocked out farm tasks at FIVE local urban farms with the help of almost one hundred motivated volunteers!

At Dirt Beast Farm, volunteers potted over six hundred bare root trees that are now ready to grow until Fall!

Over at Global One Urban Farming, farmer Staroyce Nealy and native plant specialist Roberta Vogel-Leutung led volunteer crews on a variety of projects. Some prepped native plant beds for new mulch, lining stones, and new plants, while others cleared aggressive, invasive plants like bush honeysuckle and winter creeper before setting up new fencing along the back of the property. Another group worked on planting bush beans, corn, yukon gold potato, as well as both Cherokee purple and yellow brandywine tomatoes (transplanted from Star’s basement) into Global One’s many crop beds.

Volunteers at Longfellow Farm planted hundreds of sunflowers, zinnias, celosia, and marigolds to attract pollinators and beautify the neighborhood all summer! The herb garden was weeded and the fig tree was freed from its winter insulation of leaves. 

At Young Family Farm, groups of students from nearby schools weeded onion beds, planted rows of potatoes, and learned quite a bit in the process! 

And finally, students who stayed at the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Center weeded and mulched the garden and playground, getting them ready for the warm season ahead!

The impact we made together on these farms in just one afternoon will be felt throughout the rest of the growing season and beyond for these farmers. To the corporate groups and schools who worked hard to plan and organize for this outing- Academie Lafayette, Lincoln Prep Academy, Bank of America, Turner Construction, BRR Architecture, Evergy, UMB Bank, and Whole Foods– and to every individual who joined us last week- THANK YOU! We’re already looking forward to next year. 

Thank you also to The Food Circle members Two Birds Farm, New Roots, and Heartland Honey for joining us for the happy hour portion of the day, and to the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Center for hosting us. Torn Label Brewing Co – the beer really hit the spot after all that work. Cheers!

And not to be forgotten, thank you to our own Emily Kovar, for all the hard work organizing such a complicated volunteer event. We are grateful for you. 💚

Enjoy the gallery of images from the day!

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