Ormewood Park urban farm to become green space, a tribute to Farmer Red
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Urban Farm Ormewood. Photos: Courtesy of the Conservation Fund
The urban farm and community gathering space nurtured by the larger-than-life Farmer "Red" Harrison will soon be protected as a preserve, thanks to his family, a local nonprofit and Atlanta city leaders.
Why it matters: The preserve honoring Harrison, who died in 2022, will become Ormewood Park's first large green space, Atlanta City Council member Jason Winston tells Axios.
The latest: Atlanta City Council could vote at their next meeting on whether to spend $2.7 million to buy the Urban Farm Ormewood, or UFO, from the Conservation Fund, a nonprofit that buys and banks property the city can later purchase for green space.
- The 5.3-acre property would officially become known as Farmer Red's Preserve, according to additional legislation. Both proposals must receive full Council approval.
Catch up quick: In the early 1990s, Harrison bought a Berne Street home and added nearby parcels over the years, according to a richly detailed AJC obituary.
- When increasing property taxes began to strain his finances, the Seattle native learned that rezoning his property for farming purposes could offer relief.
- Harrison, whose sister told the AJC he worked nearly every kitchen job in Little Five Points, East Atlanta and Grant Park, taught himself organic farming and beekeeping and discovered a new passion.
- "Farmer Red" — a nod to Harrison's ginger hair — welcomed neighbors and strangers to grow tomatoes and squash in their community plots, hunt for Easter eggs, or play with their kids in the closest thing they had to green space.
The big picture: "When I walked the property about two months ago, it looks like a park, it feels like a park," Doug Voss, one of the Atlanta parks department's deputy commissioners, told council members on Tuesday.
- "It does everything a park is supposed to do, which is bring people together."
What they're saying: "Brian's father, brother, and sister remember him fondly and wish to honor him and his legacy by furthering his lifelong dreams of preserving the land and its natural habitat," the Harrison family told Axios in a statement.
Zoom out: The preserve is just a short walk away from the Beltline's under-construction Southside Trail.
What's next: Once the legislation is approved and the deal closes, the city and community leaders plan to consider a memorial to Harrison on the grounds. The city doesn't envision any big changes to the property, Winston said.