WYLDE CENTER INC
435 OAKVIEW ROAD, DECATUR, GA 300304325 wyldecenter.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: Founded in 1997, Wylde Center, formerly the Oakhurst Community Garden Project, is a non-profit environmental education organization. It features 7 acres of community greenspace. Wylde Centers main office is located in Decatur, Georgia serving residents in both Decatur and Atlanta. Wylde Center manages two gardens in Decatur and three gardens in Atlanta. Its education programs take place in metro Atlanta. Wylde Center recognizes the importance of engaging with the natural world for youth and adults alike and provides opportunities for doing so through our on-site and outreach programming, membership, imaginative garden features and variety of native habitats. Wylde Center actively engages youth, families, and individuals in their environment, health, and community through organized programs, classes, and events that develop creative skills in sustainable urban living, organic gardening, health and nutrition.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, Wylde Center operated the following programs:(i)School and Afterschool Programming:Wylde Center regards the education of youth on environmental awareness as one of our main priorities. During the FY 2019-20, Wylde Center staff interacted with school and afterschool participants 20,800 times with ? of the participants in schools with 90+% free and reduced lunch and/or receiving social services. Wylde Centers environmental education program serves students in grades preK-12 throughout the metro Atlanta area including eight of the nine City Schools of Decatur and ten Atlanta Public Schools. Wylde Centers program teaches students the basics of gardening which includes preparation of harvested fruits and vegetables as well as how to explore the science of the natural world through hands-on activities that line up with curriculum standards. During our FY 2019-20, Wylde Center continued to see growth in all educational programs: Field Trips: Wylde Center's field trips bring students to Wylde Centers five greenspaces to explore the science of the natural world. Field trips engage students in first-hand discoveries about topics from agriculture to zoology and everything in between. Classes are led by highly trained and enthusiastic environmental educators. As students encounter Wylde Centers greenspaces which feature gardens, streams, and woodlands, they learn to think critically, creatively, and responsibly about the world around them. Farm to School: Since 2012, Wylde Center has implemented its Farm to School program to improve students and families awareness of the environment, nutrition, and gardening. By providing on-site education and garden maintenance (Garden Coaching) at partner schools, Wylde Center delivers garden-based education that engages students in a hands-on learning experience. Teachers work with our educators to create programs taught to their students by a Wylde Center educator. Visits to partner schools occur several times over the course of the year. In 2020, Wylde Center worked with 18 partner schools.Decatur Housing Authority: Wylde Center serves the residents of the Decatur Housing Authority through its weekly Healthy Living by Healthy Growing program (HLHG) that works to increase gardening, cooking, and nutrition knowledge and access to and consumption of fresh foods. 2020 marked the seventh year that Wylde Center worked with the senior residents and the ninth year working with the youth during their afterschool program. Edgewood Afterschool: Wylde Center staff hosts a weekly garden club and cooking club for youth residing in the Edgewood neighborhood. The program is free of charge to the participants who primarily reside at the Amani Place apartments, an affordable housing community. (ii)Community Outreach and Events:Wylde Centers outreach and events serve the communities in which its greenspaces are located. Wylde Center hosts several public events per year including the Seed and Scion Exchange, Plant Sale Festival, and Beer Garden & Silent Auction to name a few. In addition, Wylde Center offers gardening classes throughout the year as well as nature programming for families. In 2020, the programs went virtual and as a result, Wylde Center has been able to reach more participants. From March to June, more than 200 teachers signed up to take the online gardening classes at no cost to themselves.(iii)Decatur Farm to School:The Decatur Farm to School Initiative (DF2S) is a grassroots effort led by parents, teachers, school administrators, community members and organizations. Farm to School programs connect schools with local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing health and nutrition education opportunities that will last a lifetime, and supporting local farmers. The Decatur Farm to School Initiative officially became a program of the Wylde Center. in October 2010. Wylde Centers DF2S program provides nutrition staff training, high school internships, taste tests, mini-school grants, scholarships for teachers to attend conferences, garden support, and in-classroom instruction (iv)Wylde Centers Greenspaces: More than 6,000 people visit Wylde Centers five sites per year for recreation, event rentals, special events, volunteering, and education opportunities. In total, Wylde Center. manages 7 acres of greenspace.Mulberry Fields Community Garden In July 2016, Wylde Center started managing Mulberry Fields Community Garden (MFCG). MFCG was started in 1998, but after almost 20 years of management, the owners contracted with Wylde Center to maintain the space, manage the plot holders, and host community events on the site. MFCG is a community garden complete with vegetable plots, chickens, and goats. The site is used for Wylde Center-led field trips as well. (iv)Wylde Center Gardens - continued: Edgewood Community Learning Garden: Wylde Center started managing the Edgewood Community Learning Garden in August 2012. The Edgewood Community Learning Garden (ECLG) is located in Atlanta and is enjoyed both by the community and the local schools. Located in the Edgewood neighborhood, the ECLG's land is owned by the Zeist Foundation but managed by Wylde Center. Residents garden, eat what they grow and learn about environmental stewardship at the ECLG. During the course of the year, 1,000 students visit the Edgewood Garden for educator-led field trips. Hawk Hollow Garden: Donated to Wylde Center, Inc. in 2012, Hawk Hollow Garden is located in the Kirkwood neighborhood in Atlanta. The site is different from Wylde Centers other gardens in that it is shaded with a heavy emphasis on restoring the landscape with native plants. The site is used for field trips by Wylde Center education staff. Sugar Creek Garden: In partnership with the City of Decatur, Wylde Center has managed this parcel of land since 2010. The site is open to the community and is currently being used to grow produce, herbs, and native plants. Wylde Centers education staff uses this site for field trips. Oakhurst Garden: Started in 1997, the Oakhurst Garden is the flagship garden for Wylde Center. The site hosts Wylde Centers offices, community garden plots, education farm, greenhouse, event rental space, childrens play area, a chicken coop, and a native woodland garden, etc. During the course of the year, more than 1,500 students visit the Oakhurst Garden for educator-led field trips.

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Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (public 990 form dataset) from: https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202043439349300034_public.xml