by Heather
Graf
NASHVILLE,
Tenn. - Living in downtown Nashville has plenty of perks, but finding fresh,
local produce within walking distance can be tough. The Urban Hydro
Project is trying to change that.
Jeffrey Orkin
has lived in the downtown area since 2007. He's long had an interest in
locally grown food and sustainable living. From those passions came a big
idea.
"It's
called the Urban Hydro Project, and originally it was just a project, it was an
experiment for me to see if I could make this happen," said Orkin.
He started
out by growing food in his Church Street apartment.
When Orkin
began to outgrow the space he reached out to the property managers of the
Bennie Dillon Lofts and Condominiums, who quickly jumped onboard to support the
project.
"There's
been a lot of excitement," said Matt Woodruff with the Bennie
Dillon. "We see this as a great amenity to downtown Nashville."
Woodruff said
an unused old utility room caught Orkin's eye as the perfect place to start his
urban garden.
"The
room was actually a catch-all. There was just a little bit of everything in
there," said Woodruff. "It wasn't used for anything."
They agreed
to let Orkin use the space as long as he agreed to pay the electric bill. The
project took off from there.
"Currently,
we've got about four different kinds of lettuce, we have a variety of herbs
here," said Orkin. "We have an entire tomato system, growing
Roma tomatoes and some large ones as well."
Orkin's
produce has already been available for sale to residents of the Bennie Dillon
building, but his ultimate goal is much bigger than that.
Eventually,
he said he hopes to serve residents, and maybe even restaurants, throughout
downtown Nashville.
"Ideally,
if I could sell the vegetables in this room out to downtown residents, that'd
be a dream," he said.
To make that
happen, though, he needs to first expand his growing operation. Currently,
he's only using about a fourth of the space he has.
Jeffrey just
launched a kickstarter campaign, to help support his mission. He has set a
goal of $3,000. He has raised about $1,000 of that so far, and has nine days
left to go on the campaign.
To donate, or
to learn more, go to www.urbanhydroproject.com.
Email:
hgraf@newschannel5.com
