Tierras Verdes Builds Future Food Forest in Globeville Elyria-Swansea

What once was an empty 10,000-square-foot parcel of land in the industrial neighborhood of Elyria-Swansea is now home to a food forest. Bordered by railroad tracks the property is currently cultivating pine trees, fruit trees and various vegetables. The green space was created to combat industrial pollution and serve as a community garden but it has become more than just that; it’s a labor of love for the leaders of Tierras Verdes, five women whose only desire is to give back to their community.

“I am blessed and receive good things from the community, that is why I give my time to my community and always stand by them in any situation,” said Tierras Verdes member Maria de Luna in Spanish.

The parcel was purchased back in March by community land trust Tierra Colectiva with help from its sister organization Globeville Elyria-Swansea Coalition, Denver Park Trust, Metro Denver Nature Alliance and the Tierras Verdes ladies who held tamales and enchiladas fundraisers. Collectively, the groups raised $200,000 to buy the land, which had been vacant for over a decade. 

“The idea of ​​the garden began since we started the land trust, not only to build homes but also businesses and to find areas within to turn into green spaces. Have you noticed the wastelands next to I70? There are areas that are not being used and that’s what the idea was for,” De Luna said.

As soon as the sale was complete, they began work. With help from Denver Urban Gardens, or DUG, they placed 17 trees and 40 plants donated by the organization.  

“Everything that DUG has planted so far was through their [community] advocacy,” said GES Coalition Communications Director Ana Varela. “We had meetings with DUG—community meetings, planning meetings—and it was great to see [neighbors] all pick out their trees.”

Individuals from the group wanted plants that produce foods used in their own cultures and recipes, like tomatoes and chili peppers. 

“We have asked people what they would like in the garden, and they said spices, tomatoes, chili peppers, cilantro, wormseed, and they also want to have medicinal herbs,” De Luna said.

Twice a week, the ladies arrive early in the morning to beat the summer heat. They come together to inspect the progress and water the garden, which has been a challenge due to a lack of water access on the parcel. However, with the support of a neighboring family, the ladies have been able to borrow water and continue to keep the garden thriving while they wait for Denver Water to grant access. While this may have slowed their progress, the ladies are still thrilled with how far the garden has come especially after seeing a variety of tomatoes growing.

“We are very happy because we have tomatoes,” De Luna said. “The soil is producing, and we hope that soon it will give us fruit. We just need water. [The neighbors] give us water and we reimburse them a little but when we have water it will be easier, and it will produce more.”

Aside from being community leaders, the ladies of Tierras Verdes are mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, cooks and gardeners. They all share the same vision for the food forest. Member Imelda Garcia wants the garden to be an open space where the community can relax while gardening. Eventually, she would also like it to be a place where the youth can come by and hang out. Torres is looking forward to hosting events to bring the community together, where they can create dishes with the harvest from the garden. In the end, they want to dedicate the space to their community and hope neighbors continue to enjoy it as much as they have so far. 

“This belongs to the community,” Garcia said. “The community is going to benefit from these trees. I enjoy being here watering the plants. We destress, share a lot of laughs—it’s like therapy for us and we’re glad the community will benefit from it.”

While the food forest has made plenty of progress since its purchase in March, it still has a long way to go. With half of the parcel still unoccupied, the ladies are brainstorming different incorporations for the space, like a shaded seating area to gather or storage space for gardening tools. As the project progresses, they will invite the neighborhood to volunteer in the garden and reassure the community about the space being open to all.                   

“[The community] likes the idea, they just don’t think it will be public because they see the gate and the padlock. Right now, the trees are still fragile, and we don’t want them to be damaged or stolen. Once they are ready, we will open the gate,” De Luna said.

The ladies are grateful for all the donations Tierras Verdes has received to make this project possible and relieved to know the space is community-owned. Each is flooded with pride about the hard work they have put in thus far and anxious to welcome the community into the space. 

“Yes, we have done a lot of work, but it is all worth it and the community likes it,” De Luna said. “You must think about the well-being of the community. We want people to have this space so they can come and sit, eat some fruit and enjoy themselves.”

In the future, Tierras Verdes will continue to identify vacant properties that could ultimately be transformed into preserved green spaces to improve air pollution mitigation. For now, the Tierras Verdes leaders are working on raising money to buy equipment for the garden and provide tools for future volunteers. 

“I enjoy what we are doing here. I really enjoyed talking about this project and bringing it together. We have learned so much this far and plan to have another fundraising event because we still need a lot of stuff but we will get there,” De Luna said.