Black Diamond Backyard is the largest public urban orchard on the east coast and brimming with biodiversity helping to cool the surrounding environment, filter and slow surface water headed to the creek below, and home to many species of birds and other wildlife. With over 200 fruiting shrubs and trees, and many canopy trees, the land also has 12 bee hives, and 30+ community garden beds. For 11 years we have transformed the once vacant lot into a verdant oasis that has helped folks subsidize their grocery bills while building community in an industrially zoned and ignored section of our city. Now the Downtown Greenway, a major project with some great potential outcomes for the city, is being completed next to Black Diamond Backyard. Initially the thought was that this development would be an asset to our mission as more folks would find out about and have greater access to the mini-forest and urban orchard and see the impact and importance of our work. Unfortunately the Greenway development has also brought with it the always unchallenged, and often hollow, promises of "economic development" in return for sacrificing green space. We are finding that certain influential power brokers within the city would prefer this oasis to be developed and are promoting efforts to achieve this goal. The land will soon officially be listed for sale and everything on it will potentially be bulldozed and paved over. We are not anti-development but the question of "why here?" needs to be asked as the land will prove far more challenging to develop than other urban parcels nearby that are also for sale and are not home to a public orchard, mini-forest or community garden.

What can we do?

With no help coming so far from the City of Greensboro or the Greenway folks, the two parties in the best positions to help, we are out of options. We cannot buy the land as it will be listed for likely millions however we do have possibly one last shot at preserving this precious urban greenspace. We are asking that the Greensboro County Commissioner's Board purchase 425 Prescott and/or 407 Prescott using the State Appropriations Act using funds provided by House Bill 259 in an effort to preserve what has been built over the last 11 years. Given the site's proximity to a stream and the abundance of biodiversity and social activity on the site the land could qualify for some of the millions provided under the section of the bill for Agricultural Natural and Economic Resources.
https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2023/Bills/House/PDF/H259v6.pdf

The message we need to be heard: 

Black Diamond Backyard is a natural fit for the Greenway, as well as the city's goals for sustainability, protecting the urban watershed, and bolstering Greensboro's status as a bird sanctuary city. Future development challenges facing 407 Prescott include but are not limited to: its proximity to the stream, the narrow width of the property, legal setbacks from Guilford Avenue, Prescott St, as well as the Greenway, and no pre-existing structures or surface parking that could be grandfathered in the development plans. We are asking that the Board of Commissioners vote to purchase the land from Guilford County Schools under the first right of refusal and place the land under the Parks and Recreation management as a Preserve, much like the Benbow or Thomas Built Bus Preserves.

Thank you for you time in considering our proposal and helping to protect a valuable community space from more mindless development.

Sincerely,

Kermit Myers founder and manager of Black Diamond Backyard