Community Storysharing
Through community storytelling projects, Union will strengthen existing and form new relationships to foster community awareness, care, and connection- including the historical and ecological stories of the land.
Ecological Partnerships
Yaupon Place will be the avenue Union Presbyterian Seminary uses to share the land with the community and cultivate ecological partnerships, existing as an environmental haven within our urban area. One of those partners is Shalom Farms, who farms six acres of this land for food justice programming. More partnerships announced soon.
Yaupon Place will install new trail exercise equipment, a natural playground, and landscaping that encourages movement and meditation. Potential activities will include: “yoga under the trees, gardening volunteer days, bird watching, and other community led activities.
Outdoor ReCreation
In consultation with Union Presbyterian Seminary’s chaplain, Supervised Ministry and Academic Advisory Committee, and other existing Centers, Yaupon Place will brainstorm and implement new ways for engaged and embodied learning – in and out of the classroom. In addition, Yaupon Place will reach out to other seminaries and educational institutions to learn from and join their work in related fields.
Academic Integration
Intentional Visioning Process
With the guidance of Virginia Tech’s Landscape Architecture program, Yaupon Place will engage the community in shared visioning process to discern a comprehensive landscape design that centers habitat restoration and collaborative implementation.
Ecumenical & Interfaith Relations
As a center of Union Presbyterian Seminary, Yaupon Place will prioritize church and other faith relationships in story sharing work so that faith communities can lead in Richmond, VA and beyond.
