Robert Jeffery, better known as Planter Rob, has his own unique way of advocating for affordable housing — and it involves house plants. Late last month, Planter Rob partnered with house plant delivery site The Sill to donate almost 200 house plants to Edwin’s Place residents in Brownsville, and to host a plant-care workshop and Q&A at the complex, which consists of 126 apartments for homeless and low-income individuals, veterans, and families, according to homeless outreach organization Breaking Ground.
The flora aficionado originally intended to use his plant workshops as a platform to foster important conversation about racism and social justice, but is now looking to use them to help foster affordable housing opportunities across the five boroughs.
“I realized a lot of people in our community, a lot of plant enthusiasts, tend to shy away from having those tough conversations about racism, and I wanted to make those conversations less taboo for us,” Planter Rob told. “But I realized that I could be doing more with that and doing something that was tangible, like actually bringing people indoors as well as plants.”
A graduate of Western Michigan University, Planter Rob said he was always “the plant guy,” gifting greenery to friends and roommates. But after graduation, Planter Rob had the choose between living with his parents in Alabama, or “couch surfing” until he could “get on his feet.” He chose the latter. “It was really tough having to make ends meet,” he said. “I remember having to give plasma just to try to make rent so I could pay for my friends to house me and feed me for a bit.”
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