Milwaukee County 4-H has teamed up with an organization called Victory Garden Initiative (VGI). VGI was founded in 2009, with the belief that everyone deserves access to fresh, healthy food. The organization has many programs that connect with that belief, including a huge urban farm right in a city neighborhood!
Together, Milwaukee County 4-H and VGI have started a 4-H Club at the urban farm. Youth of all ages from the neighborhood, across the county, and 4-Hers from other programs are invited to join this 4-H community club. The club meets once a month on a Saturday to ensure that the youth and their families can attend and learn together.
Some of the activities the club has done so far include:
- The First Annual Berry Blast: This summer, youth and families explored the urban farm to taste and pick the ripe berries including currants, raspberries, and mulberries. Then they got to mix their berries with ice cream for a special treat!
- They learned about spider webs and took a haunted walk through the urban farm to learn about invasive species.
- A scavenger hunt in the urban farm where they learned about fruits and veggies that are ripe at the end of summer.
- Transplanting herbs into outdoor raised beds last spring.
Future activities the club voted for:
- Cooking with pumpkin.
- Creating teas and jellies from the herbs and berries on the farm.
Additionally, we are expanding the club offerings at Victory Garden Initiative to include a chess club that will meet in-doors at the farm!
Victory Garden Initiative’s youth education programs coordinator has become a 4-H volunteer and leads the club. Milwaukee 4-H staff and a 4-H AmeriCorps member support the new club with activity ideas and planning, 4-H curriculum, and in-person help as needed. To help spread the word about the club, the team passed out flyers at homes, businesses, and schools around VGI. Additionally, 4-H staff attended multiple community events at VGI to share more about 4-H with the neighborhood.
For more information about the club, please reach out to the Milwaukee County 4-H Educator Eva Terry at eva.terry@wisc.edu.
