St. John Fisher College

In the Fall of 2019, Green Visions began working with students enrolled in different Civic
Engagement Courses at St. John Fisher College to fill gaps in our program. Fisher students
were able to give us a fresh perspective on a grant we apply for annually and are creating a new
strategic plan to help guide the growth of Green Visions. Green Visions is seeking to continue
expanding both the number of at-risk-youth we are able to provide full-time employment to and
the number of our locations within the City of Rochester. Our goal with this project is to utilize
untapped resources to help plan and carry out the Green Visions Growing Healthy Futures
Program.

Joseph Avenue Business Association and The Nature Conservancy

During our 2019 to Green Visions Program Year, we were able to partner with the City of
Rochester, Joseph Ave. Business Association, and The Nature Conservancy to expand our
program to an acre of vacant lots at the corner of Langham St and Joseph Ave. This
expansion allowed us to hire an additional program graduate as a site supervisor for this lot and
an additional three program members! GreenVisions is always seeking to provide opportunities
to our members, long after graduation. In 2020, we will continue to maintain the beautiful garden
and public green space on Joseph Ave. With partnerships like this one, we hope to continue
expanding our program further into the diverse neighborhoods of Rochester, NY.

Through additional partners, modules, and hands-on, real-world experience, participants also received: small business implementation training and experience running a small business (flower selling), basic horticulture and landscaping training, hand-tool training, social media training, and community outreach experience.

The instructional programs are provided through community partnerships with the City of Rochester, the Housing Council, Charles Settlement House, Advantage Federal Credit Union, DEC, and the EPA. Green Visions educates participants to understand potential environmental threats in their own neighborhoods and equips participants to improve their community. We can’t wait for spring to get started all over again. Stay tuned for updates!

The participants:

• Complete a part-time, paid work experience and job training program, fifteen hours a week for a total of 22 weeks (longer than many traditional workforce development programs)
• Receive 10 hours of OSHA construction-based training & certification (provided by the City of Rochester)
• Receive 8 hours of EPA Lead-Safe Practices training and were designated “Certified Renovators” through this EPA program (provided by the Rochester Housing Council)
• Graduate from City of Rochester’s Operation Transformation Rochester program
• Receive Financial Literacy Education
• Receive Organic Waste Management training from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)

COMING SOON

We hope to develop a network of landscape and mowing contracts with our Green Visions program. Green Visions employs local youth and provides OSHA and landscape training. We hope to work in the greater Rochester area to develop these working relationships. Please contact if interested.

In 2018 the Green Visions program has installed an 800 square foot shipping container at the Green Visions Campus at 174 Whitney Street in the JOSANA neighborhood. The container has been completely retrofitted by Ikoniq, a Canandaigua-based company that creates top-of-the-line carts, kiosks, and containers for many of the country’s largest stadiums, concert halls, and amusement parks. The Green Visions’ container was designed to be used as a complete floral design workspace – with flower cooling room and tool room – and received financial support from the Allyn’s Creek Garden Club, the Rochester Garden Club, and the August Foundation.

Habitat for Humanity and Rochester Youth Build provided the materials and installed a driveway for the shipping container. All of these neighborhood developments are guided by the vision and leadership of Charles Settlement House Neighborhood Association and its JOSANA Master Plan. For the last six years, the Green Visions program has been working not just in the neighborhood, but more importantly with the neighborhood.

Green Visions’ vehicle for workforce development is the establishment, management, and operations of a commercial cut flower urban farm. Using formerly vacant city lots from Rochester’s Operation Green, Greentopia rents and then purchases lots that contained primarily single family homes that had been previously demolished. These stagnant lots are then turned into vibrant grow lots for a variety of cut flower species that are planted, grown and then harvested to include in custom-made bouquets. These bouquets are then sold through several local Wegmans stores, at the Rochester Public Market, and are made available for sale to custom events such as weddings, graduations, galas, and other special events.

For more information on ordering cut flowers or bouquets, please contact program Director, Morgan Barry at morgan@greentopia.org or at 585-287-5560, ext. 703