Providing Access to Nutritious Foods in Underserved Communities
The communities surrounding the Zion Urban Farm at Zion United Methodist Church (Zion UMC) have limited access to grocery stores and other fresh food retailers as it is situated in a USDA low-income, low-access food desert, meaning more than 10% of residents do not live within walking distance to a supermarket and are without a vehicle. It is also surrounded by the highest food insecurity rates in the valley. For these reasons, Zion has worked to develop and build the Zion Urban Farm to bring these much needed resources to the community.
The Zion Urban Farm has an award-winning history in agriculture and food sustainability and has been called a “model of change." In addition, Zion has appeared in dozens of presentations and publications, including the USDA-NRCS Friday’s on the Farm series, the NACD Resource Magazine, Green Chips, Las Vegas Review Journal, and the Nevada Farm Bureau’s Agriculture and Livestock Journal. Many have come to see the impact that Zion has had upon the community, including the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and the National Association of Conservation Districts. The Zion Urban Farm is also the first recipient of an Urban Agriculture Overlay Zoning District in the State of Nevada and has received numerous grants for expansion activities.
Inaugural "Pies & Fries"event held at the Zion Urban Farm
In November 2023, the Zion Ag Team hosted the inaugural fall harvest event, "Pies & Fries" at the Zion Urban Farm. Activities included an interactive sweet potato harvest, sweet potato pie contest, and freshly made sweet potato fries for those who attended. A BBQ, live music, and free sweet potato giveaways rounded out the event. Event partners included Zion UMC, Energy Tree, Growing Gears, CenterWell, University of Nevada Reno Extension, and others.
Zion UMC receives first ever Urban Agriculture Overlay Zone in Nevada
In the fall of 2023, Zion United Methodist Church became the first recipient of an Urban Agriculture Overlay Zoning District in the state of Nevada. The overlay zone, authorized through NRS 278, designates suitable land within the City of North Las Vegas for urban farming and associated support activities to include education and allows for uses such as community gardens, farm stands, greenhouses, farm sheds, and hydroponic technologies.
Energy Tree furthers hydroponic research with lights & advanced tech
Zion Ag Team partner, Energy Tree, conducts experiments and analyses at their Indoor Hydroponic Research and Production Lab at Zion UMC. Activities have included data collection and monitoring of oxygen transfer rates, increasing and decreasing the availability of specific light spectrums, analyzing the quantity of light being received in variable circumstances, temperature measurements, and microscopic observation of cell structure.
Zion Ag Team participates in press event by the Environmental Defense Fund
The Environmental Defense Fund press conference in October 2023 highlighted the $15 million in USDA Urban and Community Forestry grants awarded in Southern Nevada. Speakers included State Senator Edgar Flores, Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno, and representatives of U.S. Representative Steven Horsford's office, Nevada Division of Forestry, EDF Action, Defend Our Future, Nevada Plants, and the Zion Urban Farm.
University of Nevada, Reno Extension partners with the Zion Urban Farm
Zion Urban Farm announces partnership with UNR Extension for community engagement and education. Professors and representatives of UNR Extension have collaborated with the Zion Ag Team for opportunities related to federal nutrition programs, the Youth Horticulture Education Program, specialized programming for healthy eating and active lifestyles, urban agriculture research, and activities that promote food and nutrition security in the valley.
Zion receives a USDA Urban & Community Forestry Grant for $247,000
In September, Zion United Methodist Church was awarded a 2023 USDA Urban and Community Forestry grant of $247,136 for the Zion Urban Forest project. Located in a historically disadvantaged community, the project will address low urban tree canopy, the impacts of extreme heat & drought, food insecurity, and education to improve community health & wellness through expansion of the urban food forest and other tree canopy spaces at Zion Urban Farm.
Zion at roundtable discussion with Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
In September 2023, the USDA Forest Service announced that five recipients in Southern Nevada were awarded 2023 Urban and Community Forestry grants, including Zion United Methodist Church. The announcement was followed by a roundtable discussion with Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small about the benefits of urban forests. Other grant recipients included the City of Las Vegas, City of North Las Vegas, University of Nevada Las Vegas, and Impact NV.
Leadership from the United Methodist Church DSC visit the Zion Urban Farm
Bishop Carlo Rapanut and North District Superintendent Timote Piukala of the UMC Desert Southwest Conference joined Pastor Linda Stanley of Zion UMC and the Zion Ag Team for a visit at the Zion Urban Farm this summer. It included a walkthrough of the Community Garden Park, a meal prepared with food harvested from the urban farm, a hydroponics presentation at the onsite lab, and an overview of expansion plans for the UCAAT.
North Las Vegas Mayor and Councilwoman visit the Zion Urban Farm
In the summer of 2023, the City of North Las Vegas became the first jurisdiction in the state of Nevada to add an Urban Agriculture Overlay Zoning District to their municipal code and Zion UMC was the first applicant for the new zoning district. North Las Vegas Mayor Goynes-Brown and Councilwoman Garcia-Anderson visit the Zion Urban Farm during Zion's neighborhood stakeholder meeting for the overlay zone.
CenterWell & the MLK Jr. Senior Center partner with Zion Urban Farm
Zion Urban Farm announces partnership with CenterWell Senior Primary Care and the Martin Luther King Jr. Senior Center in North Las Vegas to offer community gardening and wellness programs to their members. Both organizations will work jointly to plant and maintain crops and will be able to participate in other programs at the farm. The Zion Urban Farm offers a walking track and taller garden beds for accessibility.
AARP Community Challenge grant awarded to Zion UMC for health & wellness program
In the spring of 2023, Zion UMC was awarded an AARP Community Challenge grant provided for the purposes of improving the health and wellness of the local community with a focus on the needs of people age 50 and older. The project supports activities that promote gardening and an active lifestyle with an emphasis on community engagement.
The UCAAT at Zion Urban Farm is awarded a $1.5 million HUD CPF grant for expansion
In December 2022, the City of North Las Vegas, in partnership with Zion UMC, was awarded a HUD Community Project Funding grant for expansion of the Urban Center for Advanced Agricultural Technologies (UCAAT) located at Zion UMC. The project will promote water efficiency and advanced growing methods while expanding education & food access in the community.
Las Vegas Realtors donate a greenhouse to the Zion Urban Farm
In the winter of 2022, the Las Vegas Realtors association funded the purchase of an all-weather greenhouse for the Zion Urban Farm. The greenhouse provides growing crops with protection from weather events such as high wind, extreme summer heat, and freezing winter temperatures while extending the growing season, which allows for year-round cultivation.
The Zion Ag Team collaborates with Nevada Plants to establish the orchard
A local nonprofit organization, Nevada Plants, provided the Zion Urban Farm with a grant to obtain fruit and nut trees as part of Zion's orchard program. The grant focused on providing trees in food deserts. The Zion Ag Team selected varietals that are acclimated to Southern Nevada's desert climate. The orchard was planted in partnership with Energy Tree and Zion UMC.
Growing Gears donates the Hydrosphere, a hydroponic display
The Hydrosphere is a structure designed to promote social interaction through hydroponics. The functional art piece was originally part of a collaborative project between Growing Gears and 100BANCH Street from Tokyo, Japan. The structure is designed for growing herbs and seedlings hydroponically while enabling people to socialize around the spherical structure. The seedlings can be used as transplants in the farm.
Energy Tree develops the UCAAT at the Zion Urban Farm
In May 2021, Energy Tree funded development of the Urban Center for Advanced Agricultural Technologies (UCAAT) at the Zion Urban Farm. The project was based upon the blueprints for urban agriculture development established for Southern Nevada. It promotes the use of advanced technologies that use significantly less water and resources than traditional agriculture while increasing crop quality, nutrition, and yields.
Zion performs National Anthem Melody at the 2020 NACD Annual Meeting
The 2020 National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) Annual Meeting began with the Zion UMC Choir performing the National Anthem Melody at the opening ceremonies. The conference, which brought together representatives from the nation's 3,000 conservation districts, was held at Bally's in Las Vegas, NV. Zion also participated in other parts of the multi-day conference and Zion Urban Farm was highlighted in presentations.
NACD chooses Zion as the location for their Annual Service Project
In February 2020, the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) chose the Zion Urban Farm as the location for their 2020 Annual Meeting Service Project. Over 40 volunteers from across the nation helped clean out garden beds, removed weeds, and prepared the ground where they helped to install a 5ft wide pathway to provide wheelchair access to the garden's 24 specially-designed ADA planting beds.
CEO of the National Association of Conservation Districts visits Zion in 2019
In 2019, Zion is visited by CEO, Jeremy Peters, of the National Association of Conservation Districts as Zion is recognized as one of the top urban agriculture technical assistance programs in the nation. He was joined by Clark County and North Las Vegas staff, Energy Tree staff, and members of the Zion community as they toured the urban farm.
USDA-NRCS Publication, Friday's on the Farm, features Zion Urban Farm
The Friday's on the Farm series is a monthly publication from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service highlighting farms from across the country. The August 2018 edition of the series featured the Zion Urban Farm showcasing the history, activities, sustainability efforts, and conservation practices being done in a food desert in Southern Nevada.
NACD highlights the Zion Urban Farm in the fall 2017 edition of their publication, The Resource.
Every season, the National Association of Conservation Districts publishes their quarterly magazine, The Resource, highlighting agricultural projects throughout the country. In the Fall 2017 edition, the Zion Urban Farm was selected for their feature story, showing the innovation, partnership, and technical expertise that has contributed to its growth.
Zion Urban Farm works with food experts at the 2017 Urban Agriculture & Food Sustainability Tour
Zion has worked with leading state, national, and international food experts. As part of the 2017 Urban Agriculture and Food Sustainability Forum, the Zion Urban Farm was selected as one of the local urban agriculture places to visit in Southern Nevada. Here, sweet potatoes and watermelon were harvested and featured as part of the evening's dinner.
The National Urban and Community Resource Policy Group tours Zion Farm
In the summer of 2017, as part of their annual meeting conference, the Urban and Community Resource Policy Group, a nationwide committee, visited the Zion Urban Farm to learn about their strategies for urban agriculture and food access. The committee selected Las Vegas for the location of their annual meeting so they could tour the Zion Urban Farm.
Zion receives the 2017 USGBC and Green Alliance Transformers Award
The 2017 Transformers Award was presented to the Zion Urban Farm by the U.S. Green Building Council and Green Alliance. The award recognized their tireless work for which the Zion Urban Farm has seen measurable results by bringing together partners from across Southern Nevada, supporting local foods, civic engagement, and community sustainability.
The 2017 Sustainable Community Award is presented on behalf of Zion UMC
In 2017, the Sustainable Community Award was presented by Green Chips, now Impact NV, on behalf of the urban agriculture work being done at the Zion Urban Farm. The award recognized the exemplary effort and achievement made by the Zion Urban Agriculture Technical Assistance Program in making Southern Nevada a better, more productive, and sustainable place to live.
Zion presentation at "Collaboration in Focus" panel at Convene for Green 2017
Amber Bosket, Conversation District of Southern Nevada, moderated a panel with Councilwoman Goynes-Brown, North Las Vegas; Eric Killian, UNR Extension; and Ciara Byrne, Green Our Planet highlighting the progress of the Zion Community Garden Park at Zion UMC, a federal, state, regional, and local collaboration project and discussed the value of public private partnerships.
Zion featured in the Nevada Farm Bureau Agriculture & Livestock Journal
The Nevada Farm Bureau's Agriculture and Livestock Journal is a monthly publication that features articles typically relating to traditional rural farming. However, the January 2017 edition took a new look into agriculture in Nevada as the Journal's center page story featured the Zion Urban Farm. The two page article, written by Melissa Blair, highlighted many aspects of the Zion Urban Farm.
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture visits the Zion Urban Farm
In 2016, the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Michael Scuse, visited the Zion Urban Farm & Community Garden Park alongside staff from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The visit was part of a tour of emerging agriculture projects in the Southwest. He was excited to see the growth of this urban farm situated in a food desert, within a geographical desert with limited water resources.
Zion receives the 2016 Conservation Excellence in Agriculture Award
During the 2016 Nevada Association of Conservation Districts Annual Meeting held in Las Vegas, NV, Zion United Methodist Church was presented with the Conservation Excellence in Agriculture Award on behalf of the Zion Garden Park Agriculture Technical Assistance Program. This was the first time the award was ever given to an urban agriculture project.
Urban Agriculture grant awarded for the Zion Community Garden Park
In 2016, the National Association of Conservation Districts in partnership with the USDA-NRCS awarded an Urban Agriculture Technical Assistance grant, the first of its kind in the nation, to the CDSN for the garden at Zion UMC. The Zion garden was also part of the North Las Vegas Choice Neighborhoods Initiative and they collaborated in its development.
