Cultivating Resilience: The Dig Deeper Initiative

Growing Food, Habitat, and Health

Both projects emerged directly from the West Area Neighborhood Plan, where residents overwhelmingly identified quality of life, access to green space, and healthy food as top priorities. In partnership with neighbors, DUG is helping address several interconnected environmental and public health challenges in the area, including food insecurity, poor physical and mental health outcomes, low tree equity, poor air quality, and vulnerability to extreme heat. By introducing regenerative agriculture practices and expanding food forest canopy, these spaces will provide both immediate and long-term benefits- increasing access to fresh, culturally relevant food, creating welcoming places for neighbors to gather, improving shade and air quality, and strengthening climate resilience through carbon sequestration and urban cooling.

Importantly, the West Area neighborhoods selected for this work are often underrepresented in conservation planning and disproportionately impacted by climate change. By centering community voices and investing in neighborhood-led solutions, DUG is helping ensure that environmental restoration and food sovereignty efforts reach the residents who need them most.