Let’s face it. That lawn we’ve been dumping water on for the last fifty years hasn’t exactly been pulling its weight. Sure it’s great for comparing with the neighbors and provides a soft landing place for kids in motion, but when it comes down to it there’s not much to show for a swath of Kentucky blue grass some thousand miles from Kentucky other than the occasional allergy attack and green-stained shoes when it comes to mowing day. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a better use of all those perfectly good front and back yards?

Candice Kearns Orlando sure thinks there is. Since 2009, she’s been installing and maintaining gardens in front and back yards all over Denver under the moniker of UrbiCulture Community Farms. Homeowners, tired of mowing or ready to be done with weeds offer up their land in exchange for a share in the CSA (never heard of a CSA? Learn about them here). Anyone else can purchase a share for the growing season, and because the land is donated, Candice and her team are able to offer low-cost shares for those who can prove need, and they donate fresh, seasonal produce to the Family Tree and SafeHouse Denver, two shelters serving displaced women and children in the Denver area.

As if that weren’t enough, Candice and her husband Jon are also hard at work on an aquaponics facility that currently grows basil and tilapia in a sustainable and mutually-beneficial way (check out their system here). It’s in alignment with their goal to feed people healthfully and locally, and will provide a means to continue to produce local food through the winter. The plan is to offer a lettuce mix, tomatoes, and even strawberries within the next year.

Ambitious and wide-reaching, UrbiCulture’s plan for local food targets key pressure points, but does so in a way that is engaging, fun, and of course tasty. If you ask me, that patch of Kentucky blue should be quaking in its boots, the new yard has arrived.