By Naomi Kim-Yu
Stephanie Becker has been part of the Ferguson Volunteer Flower Department (FVFD) for so long that she can’t quite remember how she first learned about it. Maybe she’d seen an advertisement in the local paper. Or maybe she’d noticed some FVFD volunteers working in the garden by the public library in downtown Ferguson. However she first heard about it, what Becker knows for sure is this: “It was something to do for the neighborhood and for myself [as a gardener].”
It’s been nearly thirty years since the Ferguson Volunteer Flower Department got started as a community project dedicated to giving back to the city. In the fall of 1999, Ferguson businessman Joe Lonero installed brickwork, including some flower beds, to help revitalize the city’s downtown. Local resident Kathy Noelker was then tasked with planning landscapes for two downtown locations: the Victorian Plaza and the Ferguson Public Library. She organized a group of local volunteers to tend to the gardens once a week. They invited speakers from U. City in Bloom, another St. Louis-area gardening group, to learn more about how to successfully and sustainably meet their goals. The group adopted a slogan, too: Ferguson, It Grows on You.
And so the Ferguson Volunteer Flower Department was born.
“They started with a few plants, a few trees, and then it just kept growing,” says Noelker’s sister-in-law, also named Kathy Noelker. One of the early members of the FVFD, she now leads the group with Becker.
For its dedication to beautifying downtown Ferguson, the FVFD received a Citation of Commendation in 2004 from the Federated Garden Clubs of Missouri. Most of the time, however, the FVFD toils quietly, a small group of unsung heroes who have shown up week after week for twenty-seven years. Without any funding from the city, the FVFD has found ways to raise its own money through plant sales and donations, stewarding its modest funds carefully. The city’s public works department does offer some assistance to the group by removing garden waste and maintaining the watering system at the library.
As a reliable source of free, healthy plants, Forest ReLeaf has been a huge help for the FVFD and its limited budget. By saving money on trees through Forest ReLeaf’s Communitree Program, the FVFD frees up the means to purchase other flowers and to invest in soil and mulch.
“I don’t think we could afford to use that much budget for trees,” Becker says. “[Forest ReLeaf] has been a lifesaver when it comes to filling our gardens.” Over the years, the FVFD has planted ninebark, viburnum, false indigo, hearty hibiscus, and more from Forest ReLeaf. Becker especially appreciates that Forest ReLeaf has been able to provide helpful suggestions about what plants might be suitable in various “problem areas,” like narrow planting spaces along the library parking lot.
In addition to caring for these downtown gardens, the FVFD has also helped nurture and deepen community connections. For Becker, who moved to Ferguson with her husband as an adult, joining the FVFD helped her put down roots in the local community. “It was a way to meet people,” Becker says, “and that’s how we [she and Noelker] became very good friends.” Becker has now lived in Ferguson for over forty years; Noelker, who was raised in Ferguson, has called the place home for six decades. They’ve both seen the various challenges the city has faced over the years, and they’re appreciative of “people who put trust and money into renovating and changing things,” as Noelker puts it.
The FVFD has been a steady part of that effort since 1999, ensuring that year after year, the city’s downtown blooms. “I hope people see that people who live in Ferguson care about Ferguson,” says Becker.
This project was made possible by Forest ReLeaf’s CommuniTree program!
“Imagine the kids in your congregation growing up learning all the native plants in your area and how to take care of them, and being able to experience the divine in nature,” says Christopher Grundy.
Since 1999, the Ferguson Volunteer Flower Department has been caring for two gardens in downtown Ferguson.
With Forest ReLeaf’s help, Park Commissioner Peg Crockett is adding more trees to Hunter Park, giving the local community more opportunities for play and leisure.
I am Elijah Belz, the Field Operations Coordinator for Forest ReLeaf. I am a certified arborist and the primary person in the field for Forest ReLeaf, maintaining roughly 1000 trees planted in the St. Louis City, and maintaining our equipment our equipment used to maintain our trees! This job is a catch-all position that carries different responsibilities during the different seasons. Fall and spring are our planting, tree delivery, and inventory season; winter is our pruning, mulching, and planning season; summer is our watering season where we lead a crew of interns getting into the green industry.
My background is bicycle repair! I was in that industry for almost a decade, including running a bicycle repair shop, before taking a job with a tree planting organization in Atlanta. From there I moved to an edible landscape company. I became certified as an arborist while working at Forest ReLeaf this February! Trees rock, bikes are cool too.
De’Nonna Jones graduated from Knox College in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies, driven by a commitment to environmental justice and community-based conservation. Since then, she has gained hands-on experience working across a range of green spaces throughout the St. Louis region, focusing on the care, restoration, and accessibility of urban natural areas. She began her journey at Tower Grove Park, where she developed a deep appreciation for public green spaces as vital community resources, before moving into a stewardship role with the Missouri Botanical Garden in partnership with Great Rivers Greenway. She now serves as the Stewardship Crew Coordinator at Forest ReLeaf. De’Nonna is passionate about creating inclusive pathways into environmental work and empowering tree lovers and emerging conservationists to see themselves as stewards of their communities. Through her work, she strives to strengthen connections between people, trees, and places in urban environments.
After 17 years in the non-profit and public sector, Jess remains committed to mission-driven work that tackles the challenges facing our communities. Their career began with a year of service as an Americorps St. Louis Emergency Response team member, responding to natural disasters and performing conservation projects. That foundation of service led to roles supporting the arts, affordable housing, mental health, and grassroots housing advocacy in St. Louis. During this journey Jess has worked to center the value “nothing about us, without us.” They do their best to ensure that the voices of people who have been marginalized guide the strategy and execution of work that honors their lived experiences. When they aren’t working, Jess is out paddling, hiking, working in their garden, or building something.
