Most of Austin Grown went virtual this summer, with just a few sessions at BUILD Chicago’s Iris Farm and Peace Garden.
By Susan Messer
Following up on last year’s successful Austin Grown summer youth leadership program—but adding in a pandemic—proved . . . challenging. Last year, youth worked at BUILD Chicago’s Iris Farm and Peace Garden. They had their hands in the dirt. But during the first week of June, and with the program scheduled to begin on July 6, word came in that all youth programs through After School Matters and One Summer Chicago (of which Austin Grown is a part) had to be 100% virtual.
Enmeshed in the anxiety and uncertainty of the pandemic—and the uprisings surrounding policing in black communities—it took a quick pivot to design a program that could engage the young people who had been selected for Austin Grown, calling on all the organizers, presenters, and young people to dig deep, pollinate, nourish, aerate, and grow.
Meet the Partners
Michael Strautmanis, Chief Engagement Officer of the Obama Foundation, in dialogue with Austin Grown youth about civic engagement.
—BUILD Chicago is an organization serving Chicago’s at-risk youth since 1969 through gang intervention, violence prevention, and youth development programs.
—After School Matters is a program that provides teens the opportunity to explore their passions and develop their talents through after-school and summer programs across Chicago.
—One Summer Chicago brings together government institutions, community-based organizations, and companies to offer employment and internship opportunities to people aged 14 to 24 who get an hourly wage for their work.
—Austin Grown is a collaboration between One Earth Film Festival (OEFF) and BUILD Chicago. In 2019, the 8-week Austin Grown program brought 10 students, primarily from the Austin, Garfield Park, and North Lawndale communities, to plant, work in, and learn from BUILD Chicago’s urban farm, located near Laramie and Harrison. This year, the program had 23 youth ages 14 to 21 from Austin, Lawndale, Belmont-Cragin, Avondale, Bronzeville, Auburn-Gresham, and more who were paid to work 20 hours a week—14 hours on their own and 60-75 minutes a day in video learning. Ana Garcia Doyle, executive director of OEFF designed the curriculum for Austin Grown. Says Ana, “We are thrilled to continue this partnership with BUILD, which has been leading in youth programs and violence prevention for 50 years! Together, BUILD and One Earth partner with chefs and Chicago-area sustainability leaders to teach about environment and its intersections, including racial and social justice and how to be healthy in our communities.”
Chickens at BUILD Chicago’s Iris Farm.
—At BUILD, we have Ric Miranda, manager of Arts Academy Programs. This is arts in the broadest sense: jewelry, entrepreneurship, podcasting, caring for chickens, and maintaining the gardens. “Gardening,” he says, “is another art form—a way for people to express themselves. Like a work of art, a garden is made up of color, textures, shape, design.”
—At BUILD, we also have Kimberly Jones, Youth Coordinator. During video sessions, Kim explained the at-home planting and supply kits (more about this in a moment) and led several online sessions and farm tours.
—BUILD Chicago’s Iris Farm. Once upon a time, the open space at BUILD was all grass. One day, a volunteer suggested starting a small garden, and since then, the idea kept expanding to include vegetables, pollinators, chickens, and a peace garden. Says Ric, “At first, we were just focused on the farm as a garden—an outdoor classroom that can also feed the community. But then we met Ana, and she had so many ideas, so many topics, so many ways of showing how everything—what goes on at a farm, what goes on in one’s own community, what is happening to the whole planet—is interconnected.”
Socially Distanced Gardening
Every participant received a supply kit for gardening at home.
“How,” asked Ric, “faced with the pandemic, were we going to get these kids to have a gardening experience when they can’t come to the farm?” The number-one adaptation was the idea to supply at-home planting and supply kits with instructions—one set for the After School Matters Group, one set for the One Summer Chicago Group. For example, a salsa kit, with planter boxes and pots, including a tomato plant, jalapeño seeds, cilantro seeds, and scallions.
The number-two pandemic adaptation: Recognizing that this wasn’t a one-size-fits-all situation. Some youth lived in houses or apartments, some had space outside to plant, others had to use a windowsill. Some lived near BUILD and could pick up supplies; others were too far away to get there themselves. So after a survey and sorting process, some youth picked up their kits, and Ric delivered the others.
Add on to challenge number three—making the experience meaningful, especially in a Zoom-based setting. How to demonstrate, for example, why anyone would even want to plant, say, a tomato or a jalapeño in the first place.
Themes and Connections
Says Ana, “We started with the idea that if you drink water, breathe air, eat food, you’re part of nature. Then we widened the circle to fairness and justice, that all should have equal access to good food, a strong healthy life. And then we moved to the widest circle, looking at what in their lives and communities could be improved and what these young people could do about it.” The point was to provide context for the summer work—for these young people to see that growing food relates to food security and food justice, that food, and the young people themselves, are part of a whole ecosystem or network of relationships, that seeing how they fit into the world might inspire them to understand what they might do about it.
Thus, the six weeks of online sessions were organized around three themes—that nature and people need each other; that nature intersects with social, racial, and environmental justice; and that each person’s voice can make a difference. Each week, speakers’ workshops and demonstrations supported these themes—urban farmers, vegan chefs, the Chief Engagement Officer of the Obama Foundation, a former member of the Black Panther Party, and an acclaimed social change artist whose project (“Folded Map”) garnered her a 2017 Chicagoan of the year award. A session on elements of storytelling, to help prepare for the final projects. A session on climate change. And Kim’s sessions on what it means to be present—not so easy to manage on Zoom—and on demonstrating professionalism, as essential skills for job seekers, community organizers, change makers, and leaders.
Urban ecologist Toni Anderson of Sacred Keepers Sustainability Lab talked with Austin Grown students about space equity and more.
“How will you be present today?” Kim asked. “This is your job. We count on you to do your job. We need to see you present.” And on professionalism: “I don’t want you to leave the program without someone telling you how to present yourself. The impressions you make can be negative or positive. As humans we form impressions in nanoseconds, based on how someone talks, dresses, moves.”
Plus, online cooking lessons! Demonstrations by professional chefs and entrepreneurs—people who eat and cook vegan foods. And in tandem with the demonstrations (e.g., loaded nachos with pico de gallo!), each student received a kit with a finished sample of the dish, all the ingredients the chef used, and had the assignment to follow the recipe, make the dish, and upload photos of the finished meal.
Ana again: “We’re not trying to convert anyone to veganism, but we want to expose these young people to new foods, to provide the link between climate change and food. We are developing social ecosystems that include all the people who are participating as teachers and guides for Austin Grown. These presenters want to be in dialogue with the young people.”
Assignments and Feedback Loops
The complete curriculum appeared online, setting out each week’s events, speakers, assignments, expectations, and key terms and ideas for the week. Assignments and feedback loops took several forms: Each week, the students’ job was to complete surveys, submit questions for speakers, write in journals, cook the dishes the chefs demonstrated, and upload photos of the dishes they prepared and the plants they were growing. During the final week, the youth gave presentations to show all their learning.
“They’re being paid,” says Ana, “and this work can become the basis for getting a job in the green sector. I tell them that. ‘It’s hard to not be on the farm in person this summer, but it’s your job to do this work. You have to uphold your responsibilities—join calls every time, have your cameras on, participate, complete and submit all assignments. If something doesn’t work out, we can help. These speakers are inviting you to stay connected with them, people who are earning their living in the field you’ve signed up to work in.’”
“COVID has been rough,” she says, “but seeing our youth having such wonderful opportunities in spite of it has been so inspiring.”
Says Ric, “Many of us—including these young people—are dealing with a lot of challenges, especially now. Still, we want to plant this seed and hope it will continue to keep growing.”