Growing Resilient: Climate-Smart Communities for a Healthier Jacksonville

Growing Health, Growing Hope is a free, hands-on community education event hosted by the Jacksonville Urban League Guild during Florida Climate Week. The program explores the connection between climate change, gardening, and community health, while providing practical strategies residents can use to build healthier, more resilient neighborhoods.

Participants will learn how Florida’s changing climate—including rising temperatures, stronger storms, flooding, shifting growing seasons, and food insecurity—is affecting everyday life. Local experts will demonstrate climate-smart gardening techniques such as container gardening, composting, water conservation, and the use of native and pollinator-friendly plants that help conserve resources and strengthen local ecosystems.

The program will also feature a discussion of common medicinal herbs, including aloe vera, peppermint, rosemary, chamomile, and ginger, highlighting their traditional uses while emphasizing that they complement—not replace—professional medical care.

Participants will take part in a hands-on planting activity, receive educational resources, and leave with a medicinal herb to grow at home, encouraging continued learning beyond Florida Climate Week. By connecting environmental stewardship with health education, the event empowers individuals and families to adopt simple, affordable practices that collectively improve the environment.