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Anaheim, CA

Vacant to Vibrant: Transforming Spaces for Community Wellness

Grant Amount

$20,000

Year Awarded

2025-2026

Project Coordinator

Valencia Davis

Grant Type

Team

Local Association

Anaheim Secondary Teachers Association

Focus Area

Garden and Outdoor Learning

About the Project

The “Vacant to Vibrant” project transforms three underutilized lots into sustainable garden spaces to combat food insecurity and support student wellness. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, students from science, art, media, economics, and world language courses engage in hands-on, real-world learning. They design and build vertical gardens, raised beds, and a Zen relaxation garden that contribute to the school’s food pantry and lunch program. The initiative includes family workshops, cultural food-sharing events, and community partnerships that promote sustainability and social justice. This student-led project fosters leadership, advocacy, and civic engagement while creating lasting change.

Meet the Project Coordinator

Valencia Davis

Valencia Davis is a high school teacher of Government, Economics, and AVID for 10th through 12th grade students. She serves as her site’s AVID Coordinator and Community School Teacher Lead. Valencia was also actively involved in union leadership as a former Site Representative for the Anaheim Secondary Teachers Association. Her inspiration for Vacant to Vibrant: Transforming Spaces for Community Wellness stems from both schoolwide and community data, which revealed the need for green spaces to support students’ social-emotional wellness and the importance of food gardens to address food insecurity. The project also serves as a hands-on learning resource, teaching families how to grow food in small or vertical spaces which is a practical solution for many of her students who live in apartments.

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