Last winter, a vacant lot between West Concordia Avenue and North 12th Street 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…