Community Gardener/Educator Salary

Cat’s Claw Corp is working to sustain and expand the work of longtime New Orleans educator and grower Rahn Broady, whose decades of experience have helped reconnect young people and communities to land, food, and healing. After years with the Edible Schoolyard program and teaching at Living School, Rahn has continued this work on the ground and most recently building out the St. Roch community garden, supported in part through grants we helped secure. His approach goes far beyond gardening: it’s about addressing what he calls the “nature deficit,” creating spaces where people, especially Black youth and historically excluded communities, can access land, grow food, and build a sense of belonging and care.

We are now raising funds to support Rahn’s salary so he can continue maintaining and deepening the St. Roch garden while expanding this model to additional vacant lots across New Orleans. With sustained support, these spaces can become long-term sources of fresh food, environmental education, and community resilience in neighborhoods too often left without access to green space. This campaign is about investing in leadership that is already rooted in the community, ensuring that this work not only continues, but grows.