Down the road from Norfolk’s new Railyard shopping center and behind the coal terminal is a pocket of greenery.
The city-owned plot of grass in Lambert’s Point was mostly empty for years, save for some trees and a small vegetable garden constructed and maintained by dedicated residents.
Environmental and community leaders are now revamping the site, known as the Lambert’s Point Microfarm.
The Elizabeth River Trail Foundation leads the project. Outreach coordinator Brittany Sherrod, who focuses on urban agriculture, said officials want to make the most of limited green space.
“Grass is nice, but we're not, you know, British royalty. We don't need all this grass,” she said. “We should be growing things with it. I think it makes for a healthy community on so many levels.”
The nonprofit received a $5,000 grant from Norfolk through the Nourish the City program, which funds work to address food insecurity.
Trail Foundation executive director Kindra Greene said they had already been working with the parks and recreation department and the Lambert’s Point Civic League to make the Microfarm site more like a park.
That included installing benches, a trailhead shelter and planting 40 trees, such as pawpaws, cherries and redbuds.
The Microfarm is one of nine green spaces along the Elizabeth River Trail, which stretches 10.5 miles along the waterfront from the Lochhaven neighborhood south to Norfolk State University.
Sherrod runs Club Cultivate, which focuses on growing edible plants in those spaces.
At the Lambert’s Point site, the group recently put up eight raised garden beds. Soon, she’ll plant herbs, pumpkins, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and more with help from volunteers.
The beds sit next to the longstanding garden run by neighbors, which includes kale and radishes.
Residents in Lambert’s Point have long been impacted by living next to Norfolk Southern’s coal terminal, such as reporting disproportionate rates of asthma and coal dust lining homes and cars.
Sherrod said projects like the Microfarm can help reconnect community members to their land and turn the location into an opportunity.
But she plans to test the soil to make sure it’s safe.
“Plants are tougher than us a lot of the times,” she said.
When their plants grow in, Elizabeth River Trails will harvest the produce and hold community events to distribute it. Leftovers would go to food pantries.
Greene said she’s excited to grow the Microfarm with community involvement. Nearby FR8 House Coffee donates its leftover coffee grounds to use as compost. Afterglow Brewing has expressed interest in growing hops at the site.
“This is just one small way we believe trees and vegetables and beautiful things and pollinators all help to improve the quality of life for this whole region,” Greene said.
Meanwhile, the Trail Foundation is pursuing another project nearby that could bring more people to the area.
The nonprofit announced this week it has submitted a proposed design for a pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks to connect the trail between West Ghent and Lambert’s Point.
