Milwaukee Catalyst Service Trip, Day 6 - March 26, 2014

Megan & Nick, Video Blog #3

Hello,

Today is March 25, 2014 at the weather today was fairly nice. Of course it was a little chilly but there was also some sunshine coming through the clouds. So instead of staying and the headquarters we were transported carleton elementary school which was a section of 26 greenhouses. Where we were separated into three groups with each group having a different task. One group was assigned to folding tarps and tying them with rope. Second group was going around the outside of all 26 greenhouses and would take old siding off and replace it with new wooden panels. Lastly, is the group i was in where we were assigned the lovely task to sift through dirt, wood chips, worms and worm poop. It was a never ending pile of dirt and worms.

At the end of the day when we finished our jobs we got the chance to visit the Growing Power warehouse where they manufacture and distribute the natural goods that are grown in the gardens. They also hold workshops where people learn about composting, aquaculture, agriculture and vermiculture. They also own a root washer which is a machine that cleans vegetables.

Thank you,
Yolanda

Milwaukee, WI, Day 3!

 Blog#3

WahWah & Eddie

Hello everyone, today has been an awesome. But first we let me back up and talk about our lat couple days in Wisconsin. Yesterday we were able to explore the cities and check out some cool spots.

(Yolanda, Rin, Nancy, Nick, Megan, Wah Wah, Marco, Eddie and Jenni kneeling down)

Sunday we were able to go to the Milwaukee Public Market close to downtown. It was a market filled of small stands that raged from wine shops, bakeries and even a fish market. I had the best piece of bread called harvest bread, which I got at a coffee stand.

(At the Bronze Fonz)

After we stopped downtown to take a picture next to the bronze Fonz, a staple of Milwaukee. The river was still a little bit frozen but surprisingly enough Milwaukee has nearly no snow on the ground. 

(Rin and I)

So far all the meals have been great us students have turned out to be quite the chefs because as you can see we clean out the dishes and we don't even mind cleaning the dishes.

But back to growing power, we had an extended tour of the facilities of Growing Power in Silver Spring Drive. We were able to learn and see up close how the food revolution in happening in big urban areas like Milwaukee. At Growing Power they use several green houses in a relative small area. They are able to maximize their space by growing up, they use shelves and place seedling trays on them to grow several plants.

Growing power also grows a variety of of vegetation and we witnessed the process of fertilization of the soil be worm castings (worm poop) and compost. This creates a rich soil in which the vegetation can thrive, this was such a cool experience and we were all amazed of the process that starts it all.

While at Growing Power many of us also learned about aquaponics system. This system is a very sustainable system that runs in a cycle of water. In the tanks hundred of gallons of water house many fish, a pump then goes to water the plants on the next level and the plan filter the water and it is returned to the fish. Aquaponics is super cool and we were all amazed by the big non-polluted fish they house.

This entire day has been amazing and we are exited what other cool stuff we get to experience next. But say bye to the goat!

-Jenni

Hello!

Today is Monday, March 24, and we are excited to tell you guys about our first experience here at Growing Power since we weren't able to do so yesterday.

When we first arrived at Growing Power, we began with a tour and a brief introduction to the work the farmers did. It was interesting in seeing how they used their space - although the location of Growing Power was limited, it seemed really spacious when working. I would definitely say that the most memorable moment of the day was seeing WahWah catch chickens with her bare hands without fear of their scary beaks...

Nonetheless, I was proud of our group's accomplishments today. Not only were we able to help with small tasks like watering plants, we were also able to try new things such as feeding chickens and goats!

Stay tuned for more of our exciting adventures here in the Badger state

Marco Ocampo

FYI: My spirit animal is a swan...

Milwaukee Service Trip

Day 1: March 23, 2014

Blog #1

By, Eddie & Yolanda

Welcome to the Milwaukee Catalyst trip!

Welcome to the Milwaukee Catalyst trip-

During the trip (March 22nd to March 29th) each day on the trip people will be posting things throughout the trip like; the experiences they are going through, working in a team setting, and things they can improve on and take back with them so they can reflect and apply it to their lives. Please stay tuned and and look out for the posts!