Over the last year and a half, the Ohr- O’Keefe Museum of Arts has created community garden beds near the Pleasant Reed Interpretive center. These planters have been a part of an education program between the Boys and Girls Club and the East Biloxi Community Collaborative and funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, Mississippi Art Commission, and South Arts. This program was spearheaded by former education director, Emily Brannan, to teach local Biloxi youth about herbs, plants, and gardening.

Biloxi is unfortunately known as a food desert site and many in the community do not have access to fresh fruits and vegetables or are priced out of healthy and organic options. A great deal of the students at the Boys and Girls Club of Biloxi were encountering these herbs and fruits for the first time straight from the garden bed. Part of their curriculum included learning how to identify plants in the herb garden and their health benefits. They were given activity books to log their observations in the garden and learn some meal ideas with fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition to these activities, our students also were able to combine art with their findings.

Students used materials in the garden to do abstract paintings, to journal drawings of the plants in the garden, and sample organic veggies straight from these beds. Their works of art were then showcased in the welcome center in our Education Gallery.

Last year, the museum was recognized for its partnership with the Boys and Girls Club with an award ceremony where this program went on to receive the Dynamic Group of the Year Award, for its educational impact.  We hope to continue to serve the community by continuing the garden beds and having fresh vegetables and herbs available to our neighbors and visitors alike.

This project is funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mississippi Arts Commission.