"Yeah. Nothing says hope like planting a seed."

[Why This Is Important] - The main message is to become a person worth listening to, so you can realize the impact of a story like Duron Chavis's journey in urban agriculture, from his time at Lewis Ginter to his founding of Happily Natural Day and the Sankofa Community Orchard.

[What you need to know] - Listeners need to know about Duron Chavis's impactful journey from Lewis Ginter, where he focused on community engagement and racial equity, to founding Happily Natural Day and the Sankofa Community Orchard, emphasizing the importance of food security, mental health, and land justice.

[What you need to do] - Take action by recognizing the significance of urban agriculture in addressing food insecurity and health disparities, as well as the importance of building interdependent systems rather than systems of dependency.

[TAKE ACTION] - Do this now: Learn from Duron Chavis's journey and consider how urban agriculture and community-based initiatives can contribute to addressing food equity and mental health in your own community.

Gayle Turner is President of The Storytellers Channel, Inc. https://storytellerschannel.com/ For close to five decades he has used the power of story to initiate and sustain change while growing leaders and building productive corporate and community cultures. Check out his LinkedIn profile to learn the rest of the story. https://www.linkedin.com/in/wgayleturner/ 

Shelli Jost Brady is Founder & Catalyst at Alchemy Consulting and Chief Operating Officer at The Storytellers Channel, Inc.

Check out her LinkedIn profile to learn the rest of the story. https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelli-jost-brady-94b44835/

Duron Chavis started his career in community advocacy as first a volunteer then an employee of the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of VA. He worked as a museum coordinator developing programs and conducting guided tours for groups of all ages and backgrounds.

In 2003 he founded the highly acclaimed Happily Natural Day festival as a grassroots effort to supplement the summer jazz concert that was held annually at the institution. The festival is a weekend long experience held annually in both Richmond VA and Atlanta GA that focuses on cultural awareness, health, wellness and social change. Chavis has worked with Dr. Llaila Afrika, Dr. Phil Valentine, Hakim Bey, Dr. Neely Fuller, Queen Afua, Runoko Rashidi, Ashra Kwesi, Ashanti Alston, Dhoruba Bin-Wahad, dead prez, Popmaster Fabel and many more community activists, scholars and organizations from all over the country.

Check out Duron’s profile on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/duronchavis/

Download a FREE checklist of how to craft intentional stories to inspire results. https://storytellerschannel.com/inspire

Keywords

Louis Ginter, community engagement, racial equity, Leadership Metro Richmond, urban environment, COVID response, mental health, food security, Institute For Contemporary Art, Black Space Matters, urban garden, Sankofa Community Orchard, urban farm, land acquisition, land justice, land tenure, BIPOC farmers, USDA, zoning laws, access to capital, nonhierarchical organization, ecosystem development, interdependence, mental health, hope, survival, seed planting, community organizers, urban farm fellowship, resources for farmers, Shelli Jost Brady, Gayle Turner