Our Work OUR HYDROPONICS LAB IS EXPANDING We’ve always grown greens for Amani residents’ Thanksgivings & now we’re growing our farm and STEAM/STEM education offerings.
Dominican Center is creating an urban farm. With the success of DC’s hydropon- ics lab, the organization is building on a vi- sion of bringing more agriculture to Amani, creating a rich, healthy future for its resi- dents. “There is power in building self-sus- tainable communities,” said DC Executive Director Maricha Harris. “Not only can urban agriculture and agriculture technolo- gy (AgTech) be leveraged to create access to fresh produce in our communities, but it can also be leveraged to create jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities.” With continued growth in hydroponics and STEM education at DC, the organiza- tion is expanding outside of the basement lab with a garage aquaponics unit and soil gardening on the building’s grounds thanks to donations from Ground Works Milwaukee. In the past year, the hydroponics lab has grown to include STEM/STEAM classes for residents of all ages. Last year adults trained with Full Circle 26, Inc. CEO and founder Shelley Mathews in her new pro- gram called Growing Food for Food Sus- tainability and Health & Mental Wellness. The lab is also host to a Summer Hydro- ponics Program for middle schoolers taught by Amani resident Mitchelle Lyle. The work on DC’s urban farm is only one part of what is happening around Mil- waukee. The City of Milwaukee awarded Fresh Food Access Fund grants to seven Milwaukee organizations, including DC. The grants will increase the availability of healthy food options in under served areas. DC was awarded $25,000 which will be used to develop a micro-farm (small- scale, high-yield, sustainability-minded farming) to grow Amani’s AgTech Program to improve food security and economic development.
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