About Us
Creating the opportunity
for people to learn, engage and be inspired.
Our History
The garden was made possible by investment in several vacant lots in 2011 by PULSE (an Americorps program). Four PULSE members lived each year on N Graham St and helped maintain the garden spacee. In 2012, Garfield Community Action Team (GCAT) joined the effort to make the garden a community space. Due to high demand and a successful first year in 2013, they decided to expand to provide more of our neighbors with the opportunity to garden. While formerly known as "Gator Gardens", thee name was changed in 2014 along with the expansion.
Your Co-Leads
KUWAME KINSEL
Kuwame is a native of The Hill District and lifelong resident of Pittsburgh. He is a graduate of the 2011 class of Schenley High School, coincidentally this was the last graduating class. During the transitions of those four years, he developed a passion for being involved in his neighborhood and those similarly underserved and disinvested communities. This sparked a commitment to join organizations like BikePGH, Assemble, BOOM Concepts and others whose missions focus on education, art, culture, community infrastructure, housing, and youth engagement. Following those interactions, he began attending free seminars facilitated by community groups like Neighborhood Allies, The Good People’s Group, the Larimer Consensus Group and The Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation. The information gleaned from the seminars increased his thirst for knowledge pertaining to individuals and grassroots movements to better equip the community to utilize resources available. That in turn, led to him being a Generation Next recipient for leading training and classes on various topics as well as “Educator of the year” at BikePGH for being an outstanding instructor and mentor.
In his spare time, Kuwame is an avid cyclist and art enthusiast.
co-lead
Head of Construction, Design & Education at Kincaid
VANIA
EVANGELIQUE
co-lead
Head of Communications, Art & Production at Kincaid
Vania Evangelique is a visual storyteller who is heavily influenced by the wonder and the mundane that is the natural world as well as built environments.
Born in Brooklyn and raised between there and Bethlehem PA, she is currently based in Pittsburgh and is considered a"Curator of Spaces"; she documents interior and exterior spaces to reveal themes of growth, the duality of comfort, as well as discovery.
As a practicing creative she has exhibited in Bunker Projects, Silver Eye Center for Photography, has collaborated with organizations like Associated Artist of Pittsburgh, Boom Concepts, curated and exhibited at Brewhouse Association and Associated Artist of Pittsburgh as well as at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.
She currently holds a BA in Photojournalism (2018) from Point Park University, an Apprenticeship in Masonry & Carpentry (2022), and completion of various Leadership and artistic programs across the city of Pittsburgh.
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Vania actively makes space for rest and considering new ways to be human, when the weather is right she enjoys cloud watching on the grass!