CHARLOTTE, N.C. — WCNC Charlotte spent Tuesday making a difference with Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation and The Males Place ahead of Earth Day at Fred Alexander Park in north Charlotte.
The Males Place is an award winning nonprofit that provides mentoring and life skills training necessary for manhood development for Black males ages 12-18.
WCNC Charlotte volunteers spent hours working on The Males Place garden inside the park.
"One of our three pillars is that of agriculture. We hope to address food insecurity here," said Varnell Bien-Aime of The Males Place.
The nonprofit uses the garden to teach youth about soil preparation and maintenance techniques, harvesting and distribution skills to prepare them for the real-world.
Charlotte Today hosts Mia Atkins and Eugene Robinson alongside meteorologist Iisha Scott, Briana Harper, Nick Carboni and other WCNC Charlotte volunteers tilled the soil, mulched the beds and painted the garden boxes. Trees are starting to bud that will soon produce peaches, plums and pears.
"All this work is allowing us to go ahead and do our spring and summer planting this weekend," Bien-Aime said. "We're grateful for the help because now we can really focus on the planting."
The youth will begin planting on Saturday and while the forecast calls for rain, Bien-Aime said that's a good thing so they don't have to worry about watering the soil.
