The latest edition of Groundwork Milwaukee’s Green Team Blog 2021 is here. This edition features a photo shoot with local nature photographer, Eddee Daniel. It’s definitely worth a look. Enjoy!
Gardening with a Cause this Season
Milwaukee Community Journal, August 3rd, 2021
The Milwaukee Community Journal interviews Groundwork Milwaukee’s Food Systems Specialist, Samson Srok, and Kayla Birdsong, CEO of Fresh Food Connect, about Groundwork’s role as a Fresh Food Connect operator. Have a look at the article to learn how to get register for Fresh Food Connect and/or visit our Shared Harvest page to learn more about Groundwork’s food rescue efforts. View full story.
GREEN TEAM BLOG: WEEK 4
Glendale Urban Farm Donating Thousands of Pounds of Produce
TMJ4, July 29th, 2021
TMJ4, interviews Groundwork Milwaukee’s Food Systems Specialist, Samson Srok, about the 11 hoop house Maglio Farm we run in collaboration with Riverwest Food Pantry. We’re extremely proud of this work and grateful for the spotlight. View full story.
Community Spotlight: Hilltop Community Farm & Garden
In the Harambee neighborhood on Buffum Street, right between Meinecke and North Avenue, lives Hilltop Community Farm & Garden. The first thing you notice when you visit the space are the garden beds. There are fifty of them in total, each is 4’x 8’, laid out in long lines with skinny pathways in between each strip. Many perennial herbs are in full bloom at this point in the growing season. Massive stalks covered in flowers dominate the view. As you walk down the rows, you’ll see the picnic table and chairs under the tree, inviting you to take a rest and enjoy the view. The garden is a hodgepodge of scrapped and recycled materials that have been arranged to create a vibrant green pocket in Harambee where gardeners use all types of growing techniques to raise a diverse variety of fresh food.
GREEN TEAM BLOG: WEEK 3
Racism is Magnifying the Deadly Impact of Rising City Heat
Nature, Alexandra Witze, July 14th, 2021
This article in Nature explores the relationship between institutional racism and the dangerous impacts of extreme heat events in American cities. Scientists are mapping correlations between race, poverty and heat in cities, and suggesting solutions to reduce the dangers. The article includes map layers created by Groundwork Milwaukee’s Deputy Director of GIS, Lawrence Hoffman, in his role as the lead GIS expert for Groundwork USA’s Climate Safe Neighborhoods initiative. View full story.
GREEN TEAM BLOG: WEEK 2
Community Garden Fights Hunger in Heart of Milwaukee
TMJ4, July 7th, 2021
This spring, local news team, TMJ4, interviewed our Community Programs Manager, Matt Vogt, about the Groundwork Milwaukee-led Kilbourn Community Garden. The interview emphasizes the giving garden beds where anything that grows is free to the community. The clip also features some thrilling drone footage of the garden. Watch for their follow-up story in the coming weeks. View full story.
Community Spotlight: Solomon Community Temple
Groundwork Milwaukee Launches Project to Promote Community Gardens
CBS 58 Newsroom, June 25th, 2021
Local news CBS 58 interviewed our Director of Programs and Operations, Damien DeBuhr, about our Community Garden Health Hub partnership. View full story.
Newsletter, June 2021
We got so much done in May! We hosted Health Hub plantings and cook-outs, built a lot of infrastructure for the Garden Network and harvested 428 pounds of food at the Maglio Farm! Scroll down to learn more. Watch for opportunities to get involved! Click the tiles below for program-specific updates or just scroll down to read it all.
We Got This Garden Benefits Milwaukee Youth
FOX6 News, May 27th, 2021
FOX6 News aired this piece on We Got This garden who are legacy members of Groundwork’s Milwaukee Grows Garden Network. We’re proud to call We Got This one of our Community Garden Health Hubs for the 2021 growing season and look forward to our ongoing partnership. View full story.
Newsletter, May 2021
Groundwork Milwaukee has been working hard! April was a very eventful month. We held Health Hub kick-off events, led garden cluster and adopt-a-river clean-ups and grew 638 pounds of food! Scroll down to learn more. Watch for opportunities to get involved! Click the tiles below for program-specific updates or just scroll down to read it all.
Honoring Earth Day All Year
Shepherd Express, Virginia Small, April 19th, 2021
This article in the Shepherd Express explores the history of Earth Day and highlights Milwaukee organizations that are leading the local environmental movement. Groundwork Milwaukee is one those organizations! View full story.
Climate Safe Neighborhoods Story Maps
Climate Safe Neighborhoods Homepage, April 13th, 2021
Over the past three years, Groundwork Milwaukee has been providing GIS support to the Climate Safe Neighborhood partnerships. A major part of this collaboration has been the construction of multi-media story maps that incorporate text, photos and maps to guide viewers through the equity-based climate resiliency work our colleagues around the country are undertaking in their communities. Yesterday, the final story map of the second cohort of Groundwork Trusts to participate in Climate Safe Neighborhoods was published. View the story maps on the Climate Safe Neighborhoods Homepage.
Newsletter, April 2021
Groundwork Milwaukee is gearing up for the growing season. Below is a recap of what we did in March and what we’ll be working on in the near future. In April, we’re looking forward to our Community Garden Health Hub kick-off events which are underway in participating gardens. We’re also excited to lead the annual clean-up of Lincoln Creek with community partners - just to name a few events. There’s so much going on! Come join us!
How Decades of Racist Housing Policy Left Neighborhoods Sweltering
New York Times, August 24th, 2020
This article in the New York Times explores how the legacy of redlining has left certain neighborhoods disproportionately vulnerable to extreme heat which is predicted to increase as the climate changes. Groundwork’s Climate Safe Neighborhoods project is referenced as an example of climate resiliency advocacy work. View full story.
Healing Spaces Initiative: Where Flowers Bloom So Does Hope
Milwaukee Community Journal, March 23rd, 2021
The City of Milwaukee is launching the Healing Spaces Initiative in the Harambee neighborhood. Milwaukee’s Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation (NIDC) will lead the city’s effort. Groundwork Milwaukee will play a large role in community outreach and construction of the healing spaces. View full story.
The Link Between Racist Housing Policies of the Past and the Climate Risks of Today
Yale Climate Connections, March 18th, 2021
Groundwork USA, a network of environmental justice organizations, is exploring the connection between formerly redlined neighborhoods and the climate crisis today. As part of its Climate Safe Neighborhoods initiative, Groundwork overlaid historic redlining maps from nine U.S. cities with data about tree cover, heat, and impervious surfaces such as asphalt and concrete. All of the maps discussed in this interview were made by Groundwork Milwaukee. View full story.