Super Bowl

NFL Green, Miami-Dade Parks and others team up to transform Brownsville’s Glenwood Park

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez during a press conference announcing the launch of the Super Bowl LIV environmental initiative at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center in Key Biscayne, Florida, on Monday, April 22, 2019. Behind Gimenez, from left, are Gov. Ron DeSantis, Super Bowl Host Committee chairman Rodney Barreto, and Miami Dolphins president Tom Garfinkel.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez during a press conference announcing the launch of the Super Bowl LIV environmental initiative at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center in Key Biscayne, Florida, on Monday, April 22, 2019. Behind Gimenez, from left, are Gov. Ron DeSantis, Super Bowl Host Committee chairman Rodney Barreto, and Miami Dolphins president Tom Garfinkel. dvarela@miamiherald.com

NFL Green and Miami-Dade County Parks have joined forces to bring sustainability to Brownsville.

The two entities, along with Verizon, the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee and community leaders, will spearhead the Super Bowl community impact project that will transform Glenwood Park, located at 3511 NW 43 Street, into a community garden. The conversion is set to kickoff Sunday, Sept. 22, at 9 a.m.

They’ll will be building boxes, filling them with soil, planting fruits and vegetables as well as “giving away fruit trees” to the first 100 residents, said Susan Groh of NFL Green.

The initial idea was the brainchild of local resident Dr. Iqbal Akhtar, who won a grant to transform the park. Looking for a way to unite and better his community, Akhtar believed a community garden would be just the answer. Volunteers will be on hand to aid in the initial planting but maintaining the garden will be the job of the park’s neighbors.

These types of environmental projects have been a key component to the management of the Super Bowl for more than 25 years.

“These environmental projects are part of a larger program of community events and initiatives implemented each year by the NFL and Super Bowl Host Committee to leave a positive benefit in each Super Bowl host community,” the press release said.

This story was originally published September 20, 2019 at 1:14 PM.

C. Isaiah Smalls II
Miami Herald
C. Isaiah Smalls II is a sports and culture writer who covers the Miami Dolphins. In his previous capacity at the Miami Herald, he was the race and culture reporter who created The 44 Percent, a newsletter dedicated to the Black men who voted to incorporate the city of Miami. A graduate of both Morehouse College and Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Smalls previously worked for ESPN’s Andscape.
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