U.S. Conference Of Mayors and ScottsMiracle-Gro Transform Cities Through Green Space Development

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) today announced the winners of the 2015 garden and green space grant program, GRO1000. The recipients of the grants, which will help cities develop sustainable community gardens and public green spaces, were named at the annual 83rd U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting.

The 2015 GRO1000 Showcase Grant Winners are:

• La Bajada Urban Youth Farm, Dallas, Texas - Mayor Michael S. Rawlings
• Hartford Grown Project, Hartford, Connecticut - Mayor Pedro E. Segarra
• Rochester Urban Agriculture Garden & Training Center, Rochester, New York -
  Mayor Lovely A. Warren
• 5th & C Street Urban Farm West Sacramento, California - Mayor Christopher L. Cabaldon

"We are proud to continue our partnership with The U.S. Conference of Mayors as we work together to improve our nation's cities through green space development," said Jim Hagedorn, ScottsMiracle-Gro Chairman and CEO. "Through GRO1000, we hope more people will be able to turn their piece of the Earth into what they imagine."

This year's winning cities were chosen by a panel of former mayors and national garden experts. GRO1000 Grant winners will receive a total of $40,000 in monetary support and in-kind donations for gardens and green spaces that will help transform their communities.

"We are proud of the effort these mayors have demonstrated in creating green spaces for their communities to come together," said Tom Cochran CEO & Executive Director of The U.S. Conference of Mayors. "With the help of ScottsMiracle-Gro and the GRO1000 grant program, these four mayors will transform their cities and the lives of their residents."

The program is part of ScottsMiracle-Gro's commitment to support the creation of more than 1,000 community gardens and green spaces in the U.S., Canada and Europe by 2018, in conjunction with its 150^th anniversary. To date, hundreds of community projects have received GRO1000 funding. For more information, visit www.GRO1000.com and follow ScottsMiracle-Gro on Twitter at twitter.com/Scotts_MGro.  

The 2015 GRO1000 Grant projects include:

Dallas, Texas

The La Bajada Urban Youth Farm was previously a 4.5-acre vacant lot that will be transformed into an education and recreation zone for area residents. This public green space addresses the issue of public health in a food deserted area by providing a healthy food source for the community.  With the help of GRO1000, the completed urban space will have a little league baseball field, office space and a commercial kitchen for ongoing educational opportunities.

Hartford, Connecticut

The Hartford Grown Project is an extension of KNOX, the City of Hartford's community garden and horticulture program that supports many urban gardening efforts. The GRO1000 grant will fund a beautification project across 30 city blocks, including an organized cleanup project, planting trees, constructing raised floral beds and community garden's along the city's "Avenue" district.

Rochester, New York

With the help of GRO1000, the Rochester Urban Agriculture Garden & Training Center will be constructed at the site of the old Silver Stadium to address inadequate nutrition and access to healthy foods in the area. The community garden will increase access to fresh produce, but also provide demonstrations on gardening practices, serve as a meeting place and provide technical assistance and education for all community members.

West Sacramento, California

The 5th & C Street Urban Farm will use the GRO1000 funds to expand its gardens and green space, which currently sells over 50 varieties of sustainably grown fruits, vegetables and herbs. The expansion includes educational programs for area residents and businesses, a point of sale for produce grown by local non-for-profit organizations and community gardens and will help fund additional projects in the West Sacramento area.

About ScottsMiracle-Gro
With more than $2.8 billion in worldwide sales, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is the world's largest marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and garden care. The Company's brands are the most recognized in the industry. In the U.S., the Company's Scotts®, Miracle-Gro® and Ortho® brands are market-leading in their categories, as is the consumer Roundup® brand, which is marketed in North America and most of Europe exclusively by Scotts and owned by Monsanto. In the U.S., we operate Scotts LawnService®, the second largest residential lawn care service business.  In Europe, the Company's brands include Weedol®, Pathclear®, Evergreen®, Levington®, Miracle-Gro®, KB®, Fertiligène® and Substral®. For additional information, visit us at www.scotts.com.

About the U.S. Conference of Mayors
The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,210 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Find us at usmayors.org, on facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter attwitter.com/usmayors.

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SOURCE The U.S. Conference of Mayors