MARYSVILLE, Ohio, Feb. 10, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Miracle-Gro today announced the winner of its GRO 1000 People's Choice Community Garden Grant promotion. The Michigan Urban Farming Initiative garnered over 55% of all votes to earn a $40,000 grant that will help create a new children's sensory garden designed to provide a hands-on, outdoor classroom for local youth to experience nature firsthand using their five senses.
"The Michigan Urban Farming Initiative embodies the GRO 1000 urban revitalization mission and we look forward to seeing all the benefits this garden brings to the area," said Su Lok, Director, Corporate and Community Partnerships Miracle-Gro. "It takes a community to grow a garden and that's why Miracle-Gro and GRO 1000 are bringing greener spaces, revitalized food deserts and blossoming pollinator gardens to communities across the country."
The People's Choice campaign to bring a sensory garden to Detroit began in December 2014 when local community members Tyson Gersh and Banika Jones headed to Pasadena, California as guests of Miracle-Gro to meet and consult with TV personality and DIY expert Ty Pennington on their garden projects. The representatives also rode the award-winning "Life Starts Here" Miracle-Gro float in the 2015 Rose Parade®. Inspired by its GRO 1000 mission to build 1,000 new community gardens and green spaces by 2018, the company's 150th anniversary, the Miracle-Gro float featured a refurbished green space, a robust community vegetable garden with a produce stand and a natural pollinator garden all within a busy urban cityscape.
"Miracle-Gro is thrilled to be able to make MUFI's sensory garden project a reality," said John Sass, Vice President Miracle-Gro.
In 2014, GRO 1000 awarded 132 garden grants and installed six community gardens across the country during which time Miracle-Gro donated more than 9,000 bags and bottles of Miracle-Gro product and provided more than 1,000 volunteer hours by its associates and employees.
Also competing for this year's community garden grant were representatives from Bryant Hill Community Gardens in New York City, Hebni Nutrition's Fresh Stop Bus in Orlando, Florida and Lowell Park Family Market Farm in Oakland, California. These runner-up communities will be awarded a $1,500 grant and product donation to support their local ongoing urban gardening initiatives.
For more information go to miraclegro.com and to see other GRO 1000 garden projects, visit GRO1000.com
About Scotts Miracle-Gro
With more than $2.8 billion in worldwide sales, 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.scottsmiraclegro.com .
MEDIA CONTACT INFORMATION: Annika Tunberg for Scotts Miracle-Gro 312-321-4862
