Central Florida elementary schoolers pose for a picture while forming two touching peace signs with their fingers, representing the efforts of brothers Garrett and Russell Collins, University alumni and business partners, to greenify local schools “peace by peace.”
Garrett and Russell founded Peace by Peace, a plant nursery and non-profit, three years ago. Now, with the help of a fellow University alumnus, the Collins brothers are working with University Terrace Elementary School and Kids Hope of University United Methodist Church on the University Terrace garden.
The project fulfills the brothers’ Green Classroom Initiative, an aspect of Peace by Peace in which plants are given to local schools to improve the learning environment, student performance and nutritional value that plants provide to indoor areas. The initiative serves to reconnect youth with nature, “green up” classrooms, decrease toxins in the air and increase the amount of oxygen.
“It allows people to connect with nature,” Russell said. “From this, they develop greater respect for one another as well as the Earth.”
The University graduates planted their entrepreneurial roots in 2011 when they launched Genesis Nonprofit, a program that added gardens to Bernard Terrace Elementary School and the Little Rising Sun Baptist Church in Mid City Baton Rouge. Since graduating and moving to central Florida, they continue building local community and school gardens through Peace by Peace, founded in 2013.
Garrett and Russell’s Green Classroom Initiative has led them to donate hundreds of air-purifying plants to nine central Florida schools, Garrett said. He and Russell reach out to schools, asking if they would be interested in plant donations.
Through a process called phytoremediation, Garrett said the donated plants remove toxins from the air and accumulate them into the plants’ tissues. Russell said many studies extol the benefits of phytoremediation, including firsthand accounts of teachers who have noticed improvement in student performance since the addition of the plants.
“All rooms should contain harmonizing plants. The more present in each room, the greater the advantage derived,” Russell said.
Garrett said Peace by Peace also builds permaculture gardens to increase biodiversity, pollination and local food production. To maintain balance in the ecosystem, he said pollinators are essential.
One of their goals is to expand the Green Classroom initiative throughout Florida and across the country. A return to the brothers’ college town marks the first stop on this journey.
Preparing for the near future, Garrett said he and his brother have spoken with Baton Rouge area nurseries about plant and soil donations to fill raised bed gardens. Russell said they might even come to Baton Rouge to oversee the project’s development.
“Hopefully, by enriching the lives of our fellow citizens of the globe, we can foster greater respect and care, followed by peace,” Russell said.