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Last winter, a vacant lot between West Concordia Avenue and North 12th Street in Milwaukee was buried in snow waiting to become a community garden. Now, hundreds of children from We Got This Milwaukee are spending their summer making each plot flourish and using the garden as a safe haven to look out for each other and build character.
We Got This Milwaukee works with youths ages 10 to 18 to maintain 15 formerly vacant lots in the 53206 ZIP code by planting produce and flowers to give away to residents for free, while also cleaning up the neighborhood. The work helps build leadership skills through paid opportunities, organizers say.
“We have about 200 kids here, and that’s a big turnout,” said Bri Stokes, adult leader of We Got This Milwaukee. “I love teaching them about gardening, working a real job and the responsibilities of it.”
Stokes has worked with children to help develop the newest garden, Coaches Corner.
In February, the garden was still in the planning process. Now it has eight rows and over 2,000 square feet of growing space.
“Last week, we planted about 60 trees and some berries,” Stokes said.
Developing a soft spot for children
For the children, the garden is more than just a place to plant. It’s also a place to gain understanding of what matters to them most.
Nickyle Caraway, 17, a student leader of We Got This Milwaukee, said he chooses to work in the garden because he loves watching over the little kids.
“When I was a little kid, I wasn’t getting watched over that much so I had to learn the hard way coming up to where I am now,” Caraway said.
He said he recently walked some of the younger children to the corner store and bought them all snacks with his personal money because he saw how hard they worked in the garden.
“I remember people used to come up and bless me when I was younger and that made me happy, so now I always try to bless the little kids too, especially if I got it,” he said. “I bless people a lot so I know one day that will all come back to me.”
Caraway describes Coaches Corner as a kid-friendly spot where surrounding residents show hospitality when they drive or walk by.
Growing into a different person
North Side resident Ambrea Sanders, 15, said she doesn’t do the work for the money as she’s just proud of her growth in resolving conflict and building relationships with people she never thought she would.
“It’s been nice working here because I haven’t got into any arguments because everyone’s been respectful, and if I did, I knew how to resolve it peacefully with no fighting,” Sanders said.
Sanders said she’s also pleased with how her experience working in Coaches Corner has helped her with certain life skills, like taking critiques from others, time management and more.
“I learned how to take feedback on things I’ve done and what I should do,” she said. “The hardest part about working is waking up on time.”
Tackling something new
David Thomas, 10, who lives in Hillside, said his first year with We Got This Milwaukee has been fun.
“I never planted before, but the experience has been good for me because at first I didn’t know most of these people here and now I do,” he said.
Thomas said the hardest part about planting has been digging because the wood chips can get in the way. He said he’s looking forward to learning other new things like how to water plants properly and joining the cleanup crew.
Standing in this together
Thomas and Caraway encourage their peers to join them in the gardens weekly, so they can learn more skills.
“Everybody here has something going on for themselves, and we have the leadership, integrity, teamwork and discipline,” Caraway said. “Everybody should be conquering their goals here.”
If you are interested in becoming a part of We Got This Milwaukee this summer, the youths meet up every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon through August at the original organization’s community garden between North 9th and West Ring streets.
Children 10 and under get paid $10, other ages are paid $20, and student leaders receive $40 for working on a Saturday.
A new Milwaukee garden gives youths a place to learn, connect and look out for each other is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
