Graze the Roof

Update, Fall 2008

Press Coverage:

Graze the Roof, San Francisco, CA, demonstrates soil-less and container gardening methods on the rooftop at Glide, a San Francisco church and nonprofit located in the Tenderloin District. The project eliminates the use of fossil fuel consuming production and distribution methods typical of modern agricultural practices while saving energy in the building and reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Students from Glide's Training and Employment Services Youth Build Program constructed and maintain the garden which produced 1,440 lbs. of food in its first year. The rooftop provides a natural sanctuary and a space to relax, inspire, educate and empower 200 homeless and low-income children between the ages of 5 and 18.

Maya Donelson celebrated the next phase of Graze the Roof with a community party on September 26th. Not just a summer project, Graze the Roof continues to cultivate vegetables and young minds through local, urban, sustainable, Do-It-Ourselves food production. Donelson attests that “the rooftop, barren only three months ago, is now an inviting edible landscape made possible through hard work, fun and collaboration.”

After initiation in the summer of 2008 with support from Project Slingshot and hard work from Maya and dozens of community members, Graze has been embraced as a permanent fixture at Glide Memorial in San Francisco's Tenderloin district.

See the Final Report

Project Summary:

Graze the Roof, San Francisco, CA, will demonstrate soil-less and container gardening methods on the rooftop at Glide, a San Francisco church and nonprofit located in the Tenderloin District. The project eliminates the use of fossil fuel consuming production and distribution methods typical of modern agricultural practices while saving energy in the building and reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Students from Glide's Training and Employment Services Youth Build Program will construct and maintain the garden which will produce 1,440 lbs. of food in its first year. The rooftop will provide a natural sanctuary and a space to relax, inspire, educate and empower 200 homeless and low-income children between the ages of 5 and 18.

The winner:

Maya Donelson is a recent graduate from Syracuse University. She is dedicated to creating sustainable spaces and making our cities more livable. Since graduation she has undertaken a cross country cycling adventure, worked as an architectural designer at a ecological architecture firm, and currently interns with Oakland based nonprofit, Bay Localize, where she is exploring and contributing to the development of urban agriculture, living rooftops, rainwater catchment and solar power. Aside from interning with Bay Localize she is creating graphics, designing websites and working at Café Gratitude serving local, organic food. Maya resides in San Francisco and enjoys being outside, bicycling and exploring the Bay Area.

The 2008 Focus Roots Fellowship pilot, Project Slingshot, was made possible by our partner Clif MOJO, the sweet and salty trail mix bar.