The Urban Pioneers Service Project

Summary of Taking Action

Assessment:
Our assessment, in 2005 was that it was not enough to simply clear the land, the land had to be put to productive use. We also created a hypothesis, that by teaching people farming skills, we would be teaching employment skills. Our second hypothesis was that the act of community gardening would create neighborhood bonds, which may reduce crime in the area. Finally, we hypothesized gardens would help needy people access fresh produce. Therefore, we decided to start creating Urban Gardens. In 2009, the FGC created a program called the Urban Pioneers Service Program. The FGC wanted to integrate young people into the community garden building process.

Planning:
We started small, with one garden. From there we learned the skills and best practices of Urban Gardening. We have grown each year as the MCBB tears down blighted properties. Each time we start a garden, we go through the same planning process.

1. Recruit participants
2. Teach initial farming skill sets
3. Plot out the land -- continue teaching and sharing knowledge
4. Prepare the soil -- continue teaching and sharing knowledge
5. Determine what we want to grow, and what will grow best in the plot -- continue teaching and sharing knowledge
6. Plant the crops -- continue teaching and sharing knowledge
7. Water and weed all summer -- continue teaching and sharing knowledge
8. Pick the veggies -- continue teaching and sharing knowledge
9. Eat the veggies -- continue teaching and sharing knowledge
10. Share the veggies -- continue teaching and sharing knowledge

Taking Action:
Working in conjunction with Motor City Blight Busters, a local church, and several other local agencies the Fertile Ground Collective recruits neighborhood youth, ages 8 to 18, to become Urban Pioneers. Our program lasts for the 12 week growing season. The students work 20 hours a week and are paid the Michigan minimum wage. Finally, they are given a portion of the food they grow to distribute to their family and friends. We divide the Urban Pioneers into small family-like work units. This family-centered model is critical to the success of our program, as many of our participants come from broken homes, that lack strong adult leadership. Our Urban Pioneers are given plots of land to tend, and taught the farming skills necessary to grow food. We teach the Urban Pioneers skills for selling their produce. Our program is a deeply meaningful opportunity to experience the pride that comes through earning one’s living by hard work, legal entrepreneurship and sustained employment. By the end of the summer, we hope to teach ongoing life skills such as responsibility, compassion, long term planning, budget management and cooperation.

Evaluation:
This is one of the places in which the Community Toolbox could help our program. We know our program has a very positive impact on our community. Further, our organization has been sustainable for more than a decade. However, we have not had a systematic methodology for collecting data on our outcomes.

Sustaining the work:
The Fertile Ground Collective’s work has been sustained for more than a decade. We have been inspiring youth through our Urban Pioneers Service Program since 2009. The intrinsic value of transforming neighborhoods and teaching life skills is continuously enriching for members of the FGC. This year, we have the opportunity to build a greenhouse, so that we could continue the work of the FGC and Urban Pioneers year round. This greenhouse will also help us develop a sustainable form of revenue by selling produce to local restaurants.