社区生活署选出70支团队改造无障碍社区花园：覆盖37个州与部落社区，每队先获4000美元
华盛顿——美国卫生与公众服务部（HHS）下属的社区生活署（ACL）10月23日宣布，「培育互联社区」奖赛（Cultivating Connected Communities Prize Challenge）第一阶段选出70支获胜团队。这项全国性奖赛的目标，是让各地的社区花园模式对更多人无障碍开放。
获胜方案来自37个州与部落社区的园艺组织者，服务对象包括智力与发育障碍者、瘫痪及其他身体残障者，以及老年人。一个多学科专家评审团按无障碍、可持续性与社区伙伴关系三项标准选出了获胜者，完整名单公布在奖赛网站上。
第一阶段每支获胜团队获得4000美元，并有资格进入第二阶段，把方案付诸实施并记录成效。奖金将用于调整高架种植箱的高度、添置适应性园艺工具、开办包容性园艺项目等具体改进。团队在第二阶段可根据实施成果再赢得最高8000美元奖金，第二阶段材料须在2027年5月前提交。
卫生与公众服务部部长 Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. 表示：「每个美国人都应有机会种植真正的食物、亲近户外，并参与健康的社区生活。」他说，这些团队正在拆除把老年人和残障人士挡在社区花园之外的障碍。社区生活署残障事务署署长 Rebecca Hines 表示，这项奖赛的核心是「邀请人们走进来」，获胜团队展示了社区花园在减少孤立、增加健康食物获取与加强社区参与方面可以做到的事情。
这项奖赛建立在美国农业部「人民花园」（The People's Garden）倡议之上。社区生活署下属的残障事务署负责与各州、社区及残障网络伙伴合作，提高残障人士的独立性、生产力与社区融入。
ACL Picks 70 Teams to Make Community Gardens More Accessible: $4,000 Each in Phase 1 Across 37 States and Tribal Communities
WASHINGTON — The Administration for Community Living (ACL), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced on October 23 that it has selected 70 winning teams in Phase 1 of its Cultivating Connected Communities Prize Challenge, a national competition to expand the accessibility of community garden models nationwide.
Garden organizers from 37 states and Tribal communities offered solutions to make their community gardens more accessible to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, people living with paralysis and other physical disabilities, and older adults. A multidisciplinary expert panel selected the winners based on their approaches to accessibility, sustainability and community partnerships. The full list of winners is available on the challenge website.
Phase 1 winners will receive $4,000 each and are eligible to participate in Phase 2, where they can put their plans into action and track results. The funds support proposed improvements such as adjusting raised bed heights, adding adaptive gardening tools and creating inclusive gardening programs. Teams can earn an additional prize of up to $8,000 based on their Phase 2 implementation results, and Phase 2 submissions are due in May 2027.
“Every American should have the opportunity to grow real food, spend time outdoors, and participate in a healthy community,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “These teams are removing barriers that keep older adults and people with disabilities from taking part in community gardens.” Dr. Rebecca Hines, commissioner of ACL's Administration on Disabilities, said the challenge is about inviting people in, and that the Phase 1 winners show what is possible when community gardens are designed to reduce isolation, increase access to healthy food and strengthen community participation.
The challenge builds on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's The People's Garden initiative. ACL's Administration on Disabilities works with states, communities and partners in the disability network to increase the independence, productivity and community integration of people with disabilities.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：位于华盛顿的农业部「人民花园」高架种植箱，志愿者在栽种花卉与蔬菜（2022年资料图；本次奖赛正是建立在农业部「人民花园」倡议之上）。照片：美国农业部 Preston Keres，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Raised beds at the USDA People's Garden in Washington, D.C., where volunteers plant flowers and vegetables (2022 file photo; the challenge builds on the USDA People's Garden initiative). Photo: Preston Keres, U.S. Department of Agriculture, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
