New Britain ROOTS, Inc

This grant will support 12 youth urban farmers in our City Growers program in providing a free service to residents from the City of New Britain for soil lead and nutrient testing. Youth are trained in soil analysis and soil sample collection, understanding soil composition to support a productive and sustainable garden while monitoring for any environmental hazards such as lead. Youth, with supervision from ROOTS staff, will provide this service to 40 residents and submit the test samples to UConn Extension's Soil Nutrient Analysis Laboratory. Youth will collect the soil analysis data and provide feedback and recommendations to residents. At the end of the project, students will summarize the data into a map and report to be shared with the city's Health Department and Healthy Homes Lead Hazard Coordinator.

ROOTS will partner with city agencies to host a Soil Day event on or around Earth Day 2025, sharing the research results. Funds will be used to pay for the laboratory and shipping costs, materials for soil extraction, and promotion of the service to the public.