Dynamite Hill-Smithfield Community Land Trust
The Dynamite Hill-Smithfield Community Land Trust (DH-SCLT) is a 501c3, nonprofit community organization founded in 2015 to support low-income home ownership and community-based business development.
The land trust was organized by Susan Diane Mitchell with assistance from the Magic City Agriculture Project and in coordination with the Western Area Framework Plan, which is part of the Birmingham Comprehensive Plan process. The land trust's first fundraising efforts went toward acquiring an initial parcel and to provide training through the National Community Land Trust Network. Following this were numerous workshop, classes and forums on diverse land and environment centered subjects as well as several workdays organized by the DH-SCLT and Friends of Dynamite Hill. These workdays organized volunteers from across Jefferson County to clean and develop 8 land plots adopted by Dynamite Hill-Smithfield Community Land Trust. Setting their plans to begin again in March of 2018 DH-SCLT hit a glitch upon its founder, Susan Diane Mitchell noticing a change in the grasses of most of the lots. Upon further investigation and speaking with the City of Birmingham's Public Works Department, herbicide division serious issues arose. The City of Birmingham uses Monsanto based herbicides to destroy weeds and had sprayed DH-SCLT's 7 of 8 lots with this cocktail of herbicide.
One of the major initiatives of DH-SCLT is to provide Regenerative Urban Agriculture and Horticulture for low-income families of Smithfield and other communities. DH-SCLT has a clear stance on using non-gmo, and organic practices for its agriculture and horticultural work.