Welcome to the Groundwork Milwaukee newsletter! We will be publishing an all things Groundwork newsletter each month providing our followers with program updates, community stories, and upcoming events. Find the newsletter monthly on the News page of our website. Below is the March 2021 edition. Enjoy!
Cold Weather at the Maglio Farm
Groundwork staff harvest greens at the Maglio Farm with the snow piled high on the outside of the hoop house.
The Maglio Farm is a collaborative project between the Riverwest Food Pantry, Maglio Companies, and Groundwork Milwaukee. Staff and volunteers work year round to grow food for local food pantries on the 11 hoop house site. February was our coldest month of the winter. It tested the resilience of both our staff and the greens. Luckily, the previous two weeks of warmth have seen the greens making a nearly full recovery from the icy shock of February. The hoop houses are now consistently warmer (60-70 degrees) and should be for the rest of the season. If you come out to volunteer - remember to bring layers. Spring in Milwaukee can be very unpredictable!
April Volunteer Hours:
Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday
8:30am-12:00pm; Wednesday 5:00pm-7:30pm
March Volunteer Hours:
Thursdays 8:30am-12:00pm
Fridays, 2:00pm-4:00pm
URBAN AGRICULTURE APPRENTICESHIP
Groundwork Milwaukee is in search of an Urban Agriculture Apprentice for the 2021 growing season. The apprentice will learn agriculture fundamentals over the course of a 12 week curriculum led by our experts while taking on a leadership role at an urban farm. To view the full position description and to apply click below.
SHARED HARVEST
Groundwork staff pose with a harvest of pears from a fruit gleaning outing in summer of 2020.
Last year, Groundwork Milwaukee piloted two produce gleaning programs: Glean Milwaukee and Fresh Food Connect. This year, both of these programs are combining to launch our food rescue program: Shared Harvest.
Shared Harvest collects produce donations from community gardens and private gardens to donate to food pantries. We're excited to connect with individuals to increase food security across the city. There are many ways to contribute to this year's program!
Donate Your Extra Garden Produce with Fresh Food Connect
More info on our Fresh Food Connect page.
Volunteer to Glean and Transport Produce
If you're interested in becoming a produce gleaning bike courier - we'll provide the trailer, as well as road safety & bike maintenance orientations. Special thanks to DreamBikes for assisting with custom trailer build and road maintenance trainings. To volunteer follow the link below.
Milwaukee Grows Garden Network
March is in full swing! The Milwaukee Grows Garden Network, our anchor between our many programs, has exciting plans for this summer with plenty of room for volunteer support. Below you can find some highlights through mid-February to April, and ways to be involved.
African American Environmental Pioneers
Nearby Nature hosted their Second Annual African American Environmental Pioneer Awards. At the awards, Groundwork was able to honor two board members, Sherry Terrell-Webb and Michelle Dowl and former staff member, Antoine Carter. We are grateful for their continued contributions to Groundwork Milwaukee and the greater Milwaukee community. It is with their shared vision and guidance that we are excited to move forward with our health equity programming this summer.
Former staff member, Antoine Carter (left), board member, Sherry Terrell-Webb (center) and board member, Michelle Dowl (right).
Become a Milwaukee Grows Supporter
In 2021, Groundwork is offering the opportunity to become a Milwaukee Grows Supporting Member. The Milwaukee Grows Garden Network directly impacts the lives of over 1,200 people in Milwaukee who use the gardens for a variety of purposes such as growing food for their families and using them as safe spaces for children to play. Overall, the gardens have close to 1,080 raised garden beds growing food and flowers. These beds combined with the area of in-ground planting across the network, equates to 2.8 acres of total growing space. The gardens in the Milwaukee Grows Garden Network are important assets for their respective communities. Sign up for the Supporter Membership to bring resources to the Milwaukee Grows Garden Network.
Community Health Hubs
Thank you to our program partners, Medical College of Wisconsin and the American Cancer Society for their support of Groundwork’s Community Health Hub program. Through their generous support, we are expanding programming to six garden sites within our network. More to come about our Health Hubs programing, soon!
Groundwork GIS featured on npr
A map animation comparing historical redlining boundaries to current landcover and surface temperature in Haverhill, MA. Groundwork Milwaukee has made maps similar to these for nine cities. In each instance their is a strong relationship between historical practices of segregation and current vulnerability to climate change.
Check out this story on Boston’s local NPR station, WBUR. It discusses Groundwork USA’s Climate Safe Neighborhoods efforts in the Lawrence, MA area. All of the maps discussed in this story were made by Groundwork Milwaukee! Learn more about Climate Safe Neighborhoods below.
