Community garden uprooted after SLPS, SLU deal gone wrong [Video]

ST. LOUIS — Volunteers from near and far were forced to dismantle a community garden in north St. Louis on Saturday. 

Nick Speed’s non-profit UJIMA has used the land outside the Clay Community Center on North 14th St. to grow produce and flowers and provide access to food, education, and jobs for people in the area.

Speed shared that he received an eviction notice from Saint Louis Public Schools (SLPS) and needed to be off the lot by 5 p.m. Saturday.

The Clay Community Center is inside of the former Clay Elementary School. Saint Louis University (SLU), which UJIMA partners with, leases the space from Saint Louis Public Schools.

An email sent to Speed by a Saint Louis University professor explained that a canceled agreement between SLU and the school district is what …