07/31/2025
🌱 Announcing our July Blossom Effect Micro Grant Winner: ! 🌱
Where botany meets Black brilliance! Derek Haynes is a scientist, educator, and storyteller who’s transforming how we see plant life and ourselves. Formerly known as The Crazy Botanist, Derek rebranded to The Chocolate Botanist as an ode to his identity.
Through humor, history, and horticulture, he’s inspiring a new generation of plant lovers—and now, he’s taking it to another level.
With support from The Blossom Effect Micro Grant, Derek is launching Seed TV: a streaming platform featuring Black gardeners, botanists, horticulturists, farmers, and overall plant people. 🌿🎥 This grant will help fund the platform’s Vimeo subscription, website relaunch, and foundational costs to bring this powerful vision to life.
We’re honored to support his mission to root science in identity, culture, and community. 💚