Agroforestry Regional Knowledge Exchange Network (ARKx)
Demonstration Site Profile
Demonstration Site Name
All People's Gathering Harvest Hands The People's Orchard
Demonstration Site Area
Milwaukee, WI
Demonstration Site Contact Information
Andy DiMezza
Agroforestry Practices Demonstrated
Windbreaks, Riparian Buffer, Food Forest, Integrated with commercial kitchen for canning and preserving for a food pantry. Joint run with church and St. Vincent DePaul.
414-378-7721
General Information
Agroforestry Profile
Size of each agroforestry practice
???
Geographic context
Urban
Open to contact regarding Agroforestry?
Yes
Land Tenure
We own 3 of the lots and the lot on Locust and 1st street is owned by the city of Milwaukee.
What species & products are being grown or produced in the agroforestry demo?
Apples, pears, cherries. Used Fresh, for apple and pear sauce. Used for apple, pear, and cherry cider.
What is the scale of production?
40+ trees. Commercially not impressive.
Do you use other non-agroforestry conservation practices?
Yes, swales, roof rain water catchment, porous pavement with a cistern that is powered by a bicycle pump, rain gardens, green houses, seed saving, and hugelkulture.
Total Site Size (acres)
4 city lots with 40+ trees
Years in operation
12
Did you work with a Technical Service Provider or consultant for your design?
Jim Spotts is a church member with 40+ years experience as a landscaper and Arborist. Andy DiMezza is a certified arborist and food processing manager with apple and plum tree experience. Growing Power tried to help... they killed a bunch of trees Jim and Andy replaced.
Year agroforestry systems established
2011
Visitors?
If you want a tour send us an email! If you wanna just walk around our 4 orchards and gardens undisturbed, come on by!
Demonstration Site Address
2600 N 2nd St. Milwaukee WI 53212 for 3 sites. 4th site is 199 W. Locust St. Milwaukee WI 53212.
Did you receive any technical assistance for implementing your agroforestry demonstration?
Jim Spotts is a church member with 40+ years experience as a landscaper and Arborist. Andy DiMezza is a certified arborist and food processing manager with apple and plum tree experience. Growing Power tried to help... they killed a bunch of trees Jim and Andy replaced.
Have you used grants or other financial assistance (cost share, etc.) to fund agroforestry?
City of Milwaukee Home Grown Office and Strong Neighborhoods Program. St. Vincent DePaul donations. Victory Garden Initiative Fruity Nutty Contest.
Are you doing any marketing?
Yes, lots of free marketing for the food programs that use the food we grow.
Who are you selling to? How are you selling? (CSA, farmers markets, distributors, etc.)
Food is donated and fed to people either raw or after processing in our commercial kitchen through our Gathering Table, Food Pantry, and St. Vincent Depaul Meals programs. All foods donated this way follow all state, local, and federal policies / ordinances on donating or processing food.
A few church members / volunteers make their own cider for church and private events as well.
Does your farm offer educational programs? If Yes, what type(s)?
Yes. Kids Working to Succeed (KWTS) program.
How did you get involved in agroforestry?
Victory Garden Initiative ran a Fruity Nutty Fruit orchard contest and we wanted to integrate fruit trees into our already existing gardens and youth program Kids Working to Succeed (KWTS).
What are your future plans?
Steady as she goes.
Can you describe any of the barriers or obstacles that you've overcome in establishing and maintaining your agroforestry demonstration site? (ex. land access, financial challenges, labor, operation costs, etc. )
Land Access was a big one at first. However the city Home Grown Office and Victory Garden Initiative REALLY stepped up to help us repurpose nearby empty lots.
Anything additional you want to share (i.e. economics, environmental, social impacts, etc.)
Socially all of our programs have made a huge difference in our community and is inspiring similar projects state wide. It can't be over stated and we are so grateful to everyone who believed in us, or at least wanted to see what we could do, who contributed.