Alice’s Garden is located in Milwaukee’s Lindsay Heights neighborhood, across from Johnsons Park and Brown Street Academy. Learn more about the Greater Johnsons Park Initiative.
CURRENT GARDENERS CORNER
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Check back soon!
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PARTICIPATE IN PROGRAMS
To participate in any of the programs listed on our site, please complete and mail the following form: Alice's Garden Interest Form.pdf +
Or, for more information about our programs, please contact:
Venice Williams
PH: 414.289.7799
PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNITY EVENTS
SPECIAL GARDEN EVENTS
Juneteenth Day Celebration & Potluck
Sunday, June 19th, 4:00 to 7:00 PM
Cost: FREE
Guys, Grills and Gardens!
Tuesday, August 2nd, 6-8pm
Men are invited to prepare their best dishes and bring them to the garden, or use of the the three grills in the garden to do your thang! Men who garden at Alice’s will also be offering tours of their gardens.
Exploring Biodynamic Farming and Gardening: A Conversation with Robert Karp
Wednesday, September 14th, 12 noon
Free and Open to the Public
Some have called biodynamics the gold standard of the organic movement, but what exactly is this mysterious thing called biodynamics? Join us in the garden to discuss this holistic approach to food, farming, and social change and its growing impact on the food movement in the U.S.
Labyrinth Dedication
Sunday, September 25th, 1pm
Join our community as we dedicate and celebrate the construction of a labyrinth for walking meditation. Designed in community partnership and built by volunteers and our Garden Mosaics teens, this healing space is a gift to the community from Lake Park Lutheran Church in commemoration of its 100th year!
Weekly Labyrinth Walks!
Mondays, 6pm; Wednesdays, 7am and 12 noon
Join us weekly at the time of your choosing in contemplative walking around the labyrinth. Walks are led in silence by Rev. Cheri Johnson.
BECOME A GARDENER
If you are interested in gardening at Alice’s Garden in the next gardening season, contact:
Venice Williams
PH: 414.289.7799
VOLUNTEER
There are plenty of opportunities to get your hands dirty and help out in the garden. For more information or to schedule a group service day, contact:
Jeff Rainwater
PH: 414.289.7799
Jeff.Rainwater@resilientcities.org
Mondays, 9am to 12pm
June through September
Bring a pair of gloves and a thermos of water and join us for our weekly community workday. These mornings are filled with weeding, mulching, planting, watering, pruning, harvesting, cleaning the garden.
No work days May 30, July 4 or Sept. 5
Saturday, 9am to 12pm
June 18, August 6, August 20, September 24
Designed to be large group community work days, we tackle major areas and projects in the garden. Bring yourself, your family, your youth group or other group. You should also bring snacks and/or lunch. Stay part of the workday or all day!
About Alice’s Garden
Last year, over 91 families and a dozen community organizations cultivated organic produce at Alice’s Garden. Resting on a two-acre site within Milwaukee’s central city, Alice’s Garden is not simply a forum for growing food: It is a robust urban resilience project that is nourishing the surrounding Lindsay Heights community by fostering opportunity, building social networks and promoting healthy lifestyles.
Once a landscape remnant cleared for a proposed freeway development and later transferred to the Milwaukee County Parks Department, Alice’s Garden has long served as a site for urban gardening. In recent years, however, community members have begun advocating for renewed investment in the site and its surrounding land.
With collaborative support from community partners as well as public and private entities, the Center for Resilient Cities has worked vigorously to strengthen the physical and programmatic infrastructure of Alice’s Garden and help the community realize its vision for the land. As part of the Greater Johnsons Park Initiative, the site underwent redesign and reconstruction in 2010, resulting in improved public garden plots, programmatic garden areas, and facilities that help promote healthy eating choices. Additional physical improvements include soil remediation, drainage enhancements, tool storage structures, a covered gathering space, bench seating, picnic tables, outdoor cooking facilities and a system of hardened pathways.
These improvements and the many physical changes yet to come, provide a learning campus for families and organizations to engage in healthy, life-sustaining activities grounded in nature and a rich cultural history. The following is a current list of programs offered at Alice’s Garden through Center for Resilient Cities, SeedFolks Youth Ministry, Brown Street Academy and other partners:
HISTORY OF ALICE’S GARDEN
Alice’s Garden, an urban agricultural project located in Johnsons Park, is a two-acre community garden located on a parcel of land that was once part of abolitionist Samuel Brown’s farm, the first farmer to provide safe passage to Caroline Quarlls, an escaped slave from St. Louis. The events at Brown’s farm led historically to the birth of the Underground Railroad in Wisconsin, establishing Johnsons Park an area of great significance in Milwaukee.
Before thousands of houses were torn down between 1969 and 1972 for a proposed freeway project, there was a culturally rich African-American community in the Johnsons Park area. However, after the Park West Freeway plans were halted, the land remained abandoned and untouched. In the late 1980s Alice’s Garden was created by Milwaukee County Extension to create a community gardening space for city residents.
ALICE MEADE-TAYLOR
The garden is named after Alice Meade–Taylor, the late Executive Director of Milwaukee County Extension whose career was dedicated to education, first in the area of youth issues, then in drug and alcohol abuse programs, and later in teaching people about cultural diversity and multiculturalism.
CURRENT PROGRAMS +
FRIENDS OF ALICE’S GARDEN +
GETTING TO THE GARDEN +
ALICE’S GARDEN ADDRESS:
21st Street & Garfield Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53205
WISCONSIN PLANTING GUIDE
April
Beets, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Carrots, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Collards, Kale, Lettuce, Onions, Peas, Potatoes, Radishes, Spinach, Turnips
May
In addition to the above…Chard, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Melons, Summer squash, Winter Squash
June
Beans, Beets, Brussels sprouts, Carrots, Corn, Cucumber, Okra, Onions, Peppers, Summer Squash, Tomatoes, Winter Squash
July
Outdoors: Beans, Carrots, Peas, Potatoes
Indoors: Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Collards, Kale, Mustards
August
Beans, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Collards, Garlic (for spring and summer), Kale, Lettuce, Mustards, Peas, Potatoes, Radishes, Spinach, Turnips
September (extend the season with cold frames)
Garlic (for spring & summer), Collards, Kale, Spinach, Mustards, Radishes, Turnips
Our gratitude to the generous spirit of neighborhood residents, public agencies, foundations and individuals that supported the 2009-2010 garden renovation:
Peter W. and Mary Bruce
Diane and David Buck
The Ceres Foundation
Dawes Charitable Trust
Ralph Evinrude Foundation
Greater Milwaukee Foundation
Richard and Ethel Herzfeld Foundation
Lux Foundation
Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation
David and Julia Uihlein Charitable Foundation
Wisconsin Energy Foundation
Zilber Family Foundation
Alice’s Garden Programs are funded by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the Siebert Lutheran Foundation, and the supported by the following:
African American Breastfeeding Network of Milwaukee • Amaranth Bakery & Cafe •
Aurora Sinai Family Care Center • Beautiful Blooms Landscape • Care for Creation, ELCA • GMS • Center for Regenerative Society • City of Milwaukee Earn-N-Learn • City of Milwaukee Forestry • Cultural Survival • Garden Mosaics • Garden Room/Anaba Tea Room • Herbs & Everlastings • Fondy Food Center • Fox Point Lutheran Church • Johnsons Park Neighborhood Association • Lake Park Lutheran Church • Lindsey Heights Neighborhood Health Alliance • Medical College of Wisconsin • Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) • Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board • Milwaukee County Breastfeeding Coalition • MSOE Center for Biomolecular Modeling • Milwaukee Urban Gardens • Slow Food Wisconsin Southeast • Rishi Tea • Tiger Lily Floral and Greenhouses • Unitarian Universalist Church West • Walnut Way Conservation Corp • Webers Greenhouses • YogaKids
Special thanks to Milwaukee County Parks for their longstanding support of Alice’s Garden!
GET INVOLVED AT THE GARDEN +
Thursdays, June 23-July 28, 6-8 pm
An agricultural, historical & cultural-based learning opportunity for young people and families to celebrate the farming, food preparation, and folkways of African Americans & Africans throughout the Diaspora. It honors the area’s historical setting as the birthplace of Wisconsin’s Underground Railroad. Learn more +
April thru October
A program for young people, ages 14 to 24 that invites youth workers into the world of community gardening through environmental and cultural education, as well as hands-on gardening. Originally developed at Cornell University, Garden Mosaics offers a unique opportunity for youth education within a garden setting. Learn more +
Wednesdays, July 6-August 3, 6-8 pm
Brown Boys Bonding Thru Books is a reading circle and grammar program for African American, Asian, Native American and Latino/Hispanic males entering into the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grades. FREE, but pre-registration is required. Learn more +
Tuesdays, June 21-Sept 27, 6:30pm
Family Yoga Sessions
Thursdays, June 17-Aug. 18, 8:30 am Teen Yoga Sessions
All yoga classes at Alice’s Garden are FREE! Please bring a mat or blanket, a towel and water bottle. Learn more +
This program offers daycares, schools, home-schools, and summer programs an opportunity to come explore the cultural, scientific, artistic and mathematical wonder of a garden! One to three hour programs are available depending upon grade level, with program fees ranging from $75 to $125, depending upon the length of the visit. Learn more +
2-5th grade, July 11-15, 8:30-12:30pm
6-8th grade, July 18-22, 8:30-12:30pm
Health Rocks!® is a healthy living program, developed for 8 to 14 year olds, with the goal of helping youth develop critical life skills and reduce potential risky behaviors including tobacco, alcohol and drug use. $25/student, enrollment is limited to 30 students/day camp. Learn more +
Tuesdays, May-Aug., 6-8pm FREE
Slow down and reclaim the goodness found in planting, cultivating, & enjoying a garden. Learn how to cook with fresh herbs, how to create healthy, seasonal dishes, and how to preserve and can food again as most of our ancestors did generations ago. Learn more +
Artists will be on-site to guide children through fun and engaging experiences designed to stimulate the imagination while exploring art media like painting, printmaking, drawing, sculpture and more! Along the way they learn about famous artists, cultural art traditions, elements of art and principles!of design. Many projects use recycled materials or simple materials and can be repeated at home. This is a drop-in program, intended for neighborhood children. Learn more +
Healthy Moms, Healthy Kids is designed to strengthen young mothers and their children through gardening, cooking, nutrition and exercise classes; breastfeeding circles; and life-skills workshops on household budgeting, meal planning, parenting and building healthy relationships. Learn more +
In partnership with Milwaukee Public Schools and Brown Street Academy, this hands-on, outdoor gardening program seeks to introduce young children to the art and science of gardening and help them to develop leadership and life skills. Learn more +
Alice’s Garden Staff +
Venice Williams, Program Director
Iris Christian, HMHK Mother Mentor
Lindsay Latterman, HMHK Medical Student
Stephanie Sandy, Yoga Instructor
Fatuma Emmad, Urban Farm Manager
Muneer Bahauddeen, Artist-in-Residence
Cheri Johnson, Minister-in-Residence
ALICE’S GARDEN RESOURCES
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CONTACT US
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MADISON OFFICE | 200 N. Blount St., Madison, WI, 53703 | Fax: 608.255.6793 | Phone: 608.255.9877
MILWAUKEE OFFICE | 1243 N. 10th St., Ste. 200, Milwaukee, WI, 53205 | Fax: 414.224.0243 | Phone: 414.289.7799
