Watch the "I'm Outside" Music Vlog | Urban Green Works in Miami

Before explanations.
Before systems.
Before outcomes.

This episode begins with walking.

In Part 1 of Exploring Miami’s Urban GreenWorks Food Forest, host Jabari Lee is guided through the space plant by plant, question by question—letting the land introduce itself through conversation rather than instruction.

There’s no formal tour script. No presentation. Just attention.

Learning by Asking, Not Assuming

Early in the walk, Jabari pauses at the bees—watching them move between bricks and blooms, curious about when they were introduced.

They weren’t.

The bees have been here as long as the garden itself.

That moment quietly sets the tone for the entire conversation: this space wasn’t built to control nature, but to coexist with it. Much of what exists here arrived organically—breadfruit trees already rooted before current caretakers, systems evolving through observation rather than design.

Instead of “why did you add this,” the better question becomes: what did you notice, and how did you respond?

A Garden That Feeds More Than People

As they move deeper, the food forest reveals itself in layers:

• Breadfruit, bananas, papaya, guava

• Chickens fed with scraps from the garden

• Ginger, turmeric, blue ginger grown with intention

• Greens harvested not just for nourishment, but to support the water bill

Nothing here is ornamental for the sake of aesthetics alone. Even beauty serves a purpose.

When produce is sold at market, it’s not framed as profit—it’s framed as sustainability. The garden supports itself so it can continue existing.

That practicality is never separated from care.

Knowledge Passed Through Touch

One of the most striking parts of this conversation is how often learning happens through the body.

Tasting fresh goji berries.
Rinsing a beet straight from the soil.
Smelling lemongrass, almond bush, flowering herbs.

The guide doesn’t rely on scientific terminology or academic framing. Knowledge here is relational—built through years of watching how plants respond, how leaves change, how flavors differ when something is grown slowly and harvested by hand.

There’s a recurring reminder throughout the walk:
food from the grocery store and food from the garden don’t just look different—they behave differently in the body.

Awareness Without Preaching

When the conversation turns toward community impact, the tone remains grounded.

There’s no attempt to convince.
No argument being made.

Some people want convenience. Some people want awareness. This space exists for those who are curious enough to notice the difference.

The garden doesn’t ask anyone to change—it simply exists as an alternative.

Art in the Arrangement

As Jabari observes the patterns—lettuce layered beneath trees, colors arranged like a painting—the guide acknowledges something subtle but important:

The garden is functional, but it’s also composed.

Plants are placed with intention.
Flowers are grown for pollinators as much as people.
Shade and sunlight are considered together.

This is agriculture as quiet artistry—where usefulness and beauty aren’t separate goals.

A Living Archive

Part 1 doesn’t try to summarize Urban GreenWorks.

It lets the place speak.

Through pauses.
Through tasting.
Through moments of surprise and discovery.

This episode becomes less about explaining a food forest and more about witnessing one in motion—a living archive of knowledge that can’t be fully captured in lists or facts.

Part 2 continues the conversation by zooming out—connecting land, access, and regeneration.
But Part 1 reminds us where all of that starts:

By slowing down long enough to ask good questions—and listening closely to what’s already growing.

About Urban GreenWorks

Urban GreenWorks is a Miami-based nonprofit focused on food security, environmental health, and community education through regenerative land practices. Learn more at:
https://urbangreenworks.org/